


Pursuit

by Dellessa



Series: Pursuit [4]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Dubious Consent, F/M, Nanites, Xenophilia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-09
Updated: 2014-03-20
Packaged: 2017-12-04 17:29:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/713237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dellessa/pseuds/Dellessa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Mikaela goes for a ride.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bad Judgement

**Title:** Pursuit. Part 1: Pursuit. Chapter 1. Bad Judgement.  
 **Verse:** Multi-Continuity A/U  
 **Series:** Pursuit  
 **Rating:** M  
 **Warnings:** Warnings for this Chapter: Implied Xeno, Dubious Intentions. Implied Past Mech-Preg. Sparklings. Family-ties.  
 **Characters:** Barricade, Mikaela Banes, Ensemble  
 **Summary:** In which Mikaela goes for a ride.  
 **Note:** None for now.   
  
  
_Prologue...._  
  
 _Barricade knew he was radiating nervous energy, it was the last thing he wanted the audience to pick up. It was his first piece to debut, though, and he wanted... He just wanted everything to be as perfect as possible.  The Cybertronians filed into the hall, the lights still up and glinting off their freshly polished, metallic bodies into a riot of colors that filled the hall. He searched faces, relieved to see his sire and carrier already seated in a box high above the crowd with most of his cousins, his Aunt Aria, and his Uncle Polaris.  Even the Insect was there, much to his chagrin, being coddled, no doubt, by the eldest. His father’s other brother, however, was in another box across the hall. They must have been fighting, Barricade reflected. Then again, when aren't they? It was all they ever did. His father and Megatron never seemed to get along these days._  
  
 _He watched his uncle for a moment, Megatron sat next to his own mate, Starscream. He didn’t know what to think about the seeker other than that he was unhappy. Very unhappy. Barricade was of the processor that he caused much of his own unhappiness, but he would be a fool to say that in front of either of them. The pair had a sparklet that they carted about everywhere with them. The Seeker had several other offspring from a previous relationship, the youngest mechlet was sitting to the left of him, looking both pleased to be included, but wary of his carrier’s mate. To the right of Starscream was his uncle’s mechlet, and then his uncle himself. Their sparkling was surprisingly quiet from where he sat between the two adults. It was something he felt like committing to memory. Barricade had always been fond of his cousin. Arcturus was far too inquisitive._  
  
 _There were fleshlings among the Cybertronians, it never failed to make him twitch. He could not comprehend how some Cybertronaians could so willingly accept these...squishy bags of flesh among them.  Some were visiting dignitaries representing over a dozen different worlds that his sire had arranged trading agreements with. But others... so many had bound themselves to the creatures, acting as if these fleshy bags of meat were their equals. It was sickening, making his fluids simmer. He wanted to jump to his peds and yell at them all. Didn’t they see? How could they miss it? This was a perversion of all the gifts Primus had bestowed upon them._  
  
 _He could not understand why they would willingly lower themselves to be with these lesser beings._  
  
 _He forced a few cooling puffs of air through his system. There was no point in getting angry right now. He would not have to deal with any of them until after the performance. And most of the organics were well aware of his reputation and steered clear of him. They had that sense at least. He had little tolerance for the creatures._  
  
 _The lights dimmed. The stage lights came on. His systems hummed in anticipation. It was his time now._  
  


OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

  
 _“Good judgement is the result of experience, experience is the result of bad judgement.”_  
 _-Mark Twain_  
  
 _Chapter 1. Bad Judgement._  
  
                     
The Saleen Mustang was parked half in shadow, the driver's seat unoccupied. Barricade's sensors ranged the area. He had been tracking the fleshlings for years, ever since the events of Mission City, looking for a weak point. The boy was rarely left on his own; the yellow and black Camaro watched over him like a hawk, never straying far from his charge. Irritation flamed across his processor for a moment. The boy should pay for his actions against Megatron and the destruction of the Allspark, but that was not forthcoming. The rest of the Decepticons had fled since the death of their leader, and Barricade had little want to seek out Starscream. His fondness for his uncle had never extended to his uncle’s scheming mate. Serving under the Seeker had done little enough good for him in the past. Little good at all, but land him in the situation that he was currently in. Stuck on this rock. Had he not been in his alt form he would have sneered in irritation.  
  
So he sat and watched, days that turned into weeks that became months and now years, observing their habits. His resentment growing with each passing cycle. He had not been allowed to observe the proper mourning procedure. It was a travesty. How the Prime had allowed such a thing was beyond him. To toss the honored dead away into the watery darkness like so much refuse. One more reason to hate the Prime, hate the boy, to make them all suffer.  
  
The boy was well guarded but the girl, not so much. He watched her walking down the dusty road in the dark, seemingly unaware of the danger she was in. She made a habit of it, walking in the dark. He had picked up enough human chatter to know how dangerous it was for a lone human female to act in such a manner. He observed her, mulling over that thought, over the fleshling’s disregard for her own safety. Taking the girl would certainly hurt the boy. Never knowing what happened to her would eat away at the boy for years, possibly for the rest of his life. And hurting the boy would make the Autobots less than happy. It was reason enough. More than reason enough, his processor whirled. The lights on the Saleen sprang to life, his holoform appearing in the driver's seat as he turned onto the street. He cruised slowly, nearly stopping as he rolled up behind the girl. Mikaela Banes, some far part of his processor reminded him. Not that the fleshling’s name mattered to him. All that mattered is that he would make her sorry, and by extension he would hurt all who had done this to him.  
  
She stiffened as she felt the car pull up behind her, looking back with a scowl. Her arms crossed over her chest when the car stopped beside her and the driver’s side door swung open. She did not yet know the danger she was in. His research had told him that she ran afoul of local law quite often. Guilt by association. The local authorities watched her in hopes of slipping up her sire. In some ways he could respect these humans, they were often very Decepticon in their practices.  
  
“Miss Banes.” He said, amused when she looked down, her eyes catching on the slogan “To Punish And Enslave” on the side of the car. Her look changed from one of annoyance to one of terror. She turned to run and made it all of two strides before the holoform’s hand gripping her arm, swinging her around and using her own momentum to slam her against the side of his alt form. She hit hard enough that the air left her lungs, her head impacting, leaving her vision spotty. His door unlocked and opened wide, allowing Barricade to shove the still dazed girl inside. The locks engaged as the door shut, while his holoform’s sensors dispersed back into his true form.  
  
Mikaela whimpered, pressing a hand against her head, “What the fuck,” she swore, sitting back in the seat. She reached for the door, not expecting it to give. “What the fuck,” she said again, panic and not a little anger starting to settle into her tone. Quite a little mouth on her, he thought. She kicked at the door futilely, to his amusement. It was not as if anything the little fleshing did could harm him.  
  
“Continue to do that, Miss Banes, and you will not like my reaction.” Barricade finally said as the novelty of her struggle wore off. He scanned the girl’s vital signs as he sped down the road, exceeding the speed limit by a clip.  
  
“Like it matters,” she snorted. “You are going to kill me anyway,” she hissed, kicking at the door with more force.  
  
He did not bother hiding the sneer in his voice. If he’d been in rootmode she would have seen his lip plates curl in a wicked mix of amusement and anticipation. He was going to have fun with her. “Perhaps. But if you continue, I will make it linger.”  
  
“Like you aren't going to anyway,” she said derisively, kicking harder, her anger overriding her common sense.  
  
His holoform materialised beside her and restrained her, wrapping his arms around her. He pulled her close, squeezing. “Desist,” he ordered, his voice against her ear. She stiffened when his hand went to her neck, squeezing off her air supply. She struggled, and the world went spotty and then black as she lost her hold on consciousness. She slumped against Barricade's holoform. He frowned as he scanned her again, making sure he had done no permanent damage. Her pulse beat slowly and steadily against his holoform. Her breathing was steady, and her skin was pleasantly warm. She smelled faintly of something he didn’t have a name for. It stuck in his olfactory sensors, not unpleasant, but he was distracted by it. Briefly. He pushed down his curiosity for the moment, it had no place in this. She was well for now, and that was enough. He didn't want her to be damaged. Not yet, at least. Not yet by far. The seatbelt snaked out, tightening her against the seat, holding her in place before he again dispersed the holoform.  
  
His attention returned to his destination. The paved road turned into a gravel, and the gravel to a dirt road, but he kept driving, getting far enough out of Bumblebee's sensor range. He raced down the road, kicking up a dust-cloud behind him.  
  
A wave of panic shot through him. He should have waited, but it had been the perfect opportunity. He just did not know what he was going to do with her. He had time. He had a place to go to ground and decide. The options for Decepticon justice almost seemed limitless....  
  


OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

  
Mikaela’s head pounded painfully. When she reached to rub her head, she found she couldn't raise her arm all the way before a manacle bit into her wrist. Her brows pinched as she tried to piece together what had happened. Her head hurt. Her throat hurt. Her arm hurt. Everything just hurt. She sat up, and tried to focus in on her surroundings. The light was dim. It took a few moments for her sight to adjust. She looked around the building, her eyes stopping on the Decepticon who sat watching her. He rose moving close, plucking the manacle from her wrist with sharp talons. She stiffening as he drew near. Mikaela clenching her fists to keep them from shaking. Her nails bit into her hands, digging in deeply enough to draw blood.    
  
“You may have the run of the building,” he said, still watching her. “You have nowhere to go, and no way to get out. If you do manage, I will find you again. However I do not think you would survive an escape attempt.”  His voice little more than a growl.  Barricade bent his frame until they were eye to optic. She refused to flinch. She could tell he respected her for that against whatever else he might be feeling.    
  
“What does it matter? You’re going to kill me anyway.” Mikaela finally said, her own eyes narrowing. Still, she looked around, her mind whirling. There were no windows close enough to the ground for her to escape though. The door she could see had some sort of mechanised lock on it. Mikaela could not help but frown. The building was once a warehouse, that much was clear. It had been long deserted. The bed she sat on was on a slab of cement in what once might have been the office area. There was a sink and a bathroom in the corner. She eyed the emergency shower full of mistrust. The colors and smells from the various fluids on the floor told her the whole story of the building. At least the roof seemed pretty much in one piece. Mikaela sighed as a questions she dare not voice crossed her mind. What the hell was she going to do?  
  
Not much, at least not now. She would have to be wary and wait him out. Chances were good he would grow bored with her. When he did she would go back home in pieces, or maybe not go back home at all. It would hurt Sam if she never came back and that was what this was all about. Sam had killed the Decepticon leader. Barricade was a loyal Decepticon. Still, he seemed like any of the dozens of hardened criminals her dad worked with over the years. Everyone of them grew careless. She just had to wait for this one to get careless too. If dealing with her family had taught her anything, it was how to recognize when someone was about to screw up.  
  
So she would watch, and she would wait. She was not going to be just another mark, another statistic.  
  


OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

  
Sam frowned, dialing Mikaela’s number for what seemed like the thousandth time but, in reality, was the seventh. They had broken up months ago, but she was still one of his best friends. They had been through alot together. He punched out the numbers and hit talk again. The call went straight to voicemail.  Panic shot through him, making his stomach do a flip-flop. The odd feeling rising and just knowing it was going to bottom you out any minute now.  
  
“Sam?” Bumblebee’s holoform sat on the edge of the window, frowning. Sam’s blood pressure rose minutely, then more than minutely.    
  
Sam waved the phone under Bumblebee’s nose like the little object had personally offended him. “‘Kaela isn’t answering her phone.”  
  
Bee cocked a brow, swinging his legs the rest of the way into the room, watching his human as flapped about and rambled on about the girl in question. “Perhaps, she is asleep?” The scout asked, watching Sam go through the motions of panic. It was always an interesting sight.  
  
“She’s not at home. I called her house first! Don’t you think I would call her house first?! You know how she is...she’s just...she’s just not very careful, Bee.”  Sam said, his voice rising in pitch. “Some...some Decepticon could have her. Starscream could be torturing her. We don’t even know where any of them are.” His eyes widened as the panic set in. “She could be dead, Bee.”  
  
Bee looked at him and leaned forward, putting his hand over Sam’s mouth. “Calm yourself. You are going to wake your parents. She is probably fine. Mikaela is not stupid. Do you honestly think one of them would get to her?”  
  
Bumblebee leaned away, and ran a hand through his holoform’s shaggy blond hair. It was a habit he had picked up while learning to imitate human gestures. He considered it for a moment and finally shrugged. He liked her. Knew she was a good friend to Sam. “Let’s go look for her then. It is clearly the only thing that will...settle your nerves,” he said. He threw a glance over at Sam.  
  
Sam continued to pace around the room, making himself agitated. “Sam?” He called, trying to get the young man’s attention. “Sam,” he said again, louder this time, and the boy finally nodded at him.  
  
“I will be right down.” Sam said, watching Bumblebee’s holoform dissolve. He still found it entirely disconcerting.  
  


OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

  
Bumblebee revved his engine, doing his best to be patient as he waited for Sam to come down. Patience. If he did not have such a trait before, by Primus, he was gaining it these days. It seemed like he waited for a joor, but it could not have been more than a breem. Hot air excited his vents in what would have amounted to a sigh. His sensors scanned Sam as he strode out of the house, the odd spark of power still in Sam’s chest. He wondered what changes it was making in his human, but only time would tell. He opened the passenger side door, closing it with a click as Sam sat down. His holoform appeared in the driver’s seat, his blue eyes already fastening on Sam, searching his human’s face for a moment before he backed out of the driveway. Sam was still edgy, he could tell by the way he practically twitched. “Sam?”    
  
Sam startled, shaken out of whatever revery he has sunk into. It was a habit that had grown more and more apparent in the months since the loss of the Allspark. Not loss, so much, Bumblebee knew. It wasn’t lost, just seemingly dormant within Sam. It worried him a great deal.   
  
They went silently down the road, Bumblebee sending out his sensors throughout the area about them. He went through his wifi. Hacking into the phone systems he found the GPS for Mikaela’s phone, and frowned.  It was not at her house. Perhaps Sam had a right to worry. He followed the location and finally stopped, it was a good mile from Mikaela’s house. He came to a halt, his holoform jumped out and began looking around. He spotted a glint of muted metal, something human eyes would never have noticed. The cellphone was half buried in a patch of grass. He picked it up, tossing it at Sam. “I think...I think we have a problem.” His holoform’s eyes flicked to Sam, waiting for the explosion.  
  
He did not have to wait long. Sam’s eyes looked as though they might pop out of his head. Bee hoped they would not, he found that he was more than a little bit fond of his human as he was. For once he simply let Sam rant, his attention turning inside as he reached out, the comlink settling into place like a sigh. This was the first time since his vocalizer had been fixed, he was at a loss for words. :Mikaela Banes is missing.:  He finally sent, sending out the GPS location.  
  
:We will be right there.: Came Optimus’ quick reply. The comlink went silent. Bee felt a wash of guilt at his relief that the other Autobots did not chime in. His nerves, if he had them, as such were stretched bare. He turned his attention back to Sam, who had finally gone quiet. Not a good sign. His holoform sat back in the driver’s seat and looked at Sam’s quiet form. It was as far from good as any sign could get. Sam was a nervous babbler, he tried to talk his way out of trouble. Silence was an ill fitting suit for him.  
  
They sat like this for several minutes, the tension rising, before Sam...his Sam...came out of hiding. His words poured out like an unchecked river through a burst dam. “Someone should have been watching her! Humans aren’t always very nice to each other. Not at all. Anyone could have picked her up! I always told her she needed to stop walking alone at night. I mean, her father might have pissed someone off from prison. Some random fuck could have been driving along and got a thought in their head. God, Bee, what about serial killers?!” His breath was coming heavy and his voice cracked from the strain. Sam turned, looking at Bee with pained eyes. “She could be dead by now!”    
  
Bumblebee didn’t know what to say, if there was anything to say. All of that was true. It didn’t have to be Decepticons. It could have easily been some random human. Either way, they might never know and it would break Sam’s heart.  
  
He did the only thing he could. His holoform leaned across the seat and pulled Sam into a tight hug. He held him even as Sam tried to weakly push away, so he held Sam as the young human gave in and began to cry.  
  


OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOooo

  
Mikaela washed her face in the sink and frowned at her reflection. She had lost track of the hours, the days since she had been snatched up. It grated on her nerves. For the most part he had ignored her, which was, perhaps a worse sort of torture.   
  
The first day she was sure he was going to kill her, but they had settled into a rhythm of sorts. Mostly she slept, and he ignored her. He would go out, often coming back with food for her. It was all odd. Her frown deepened and she rummaged through the boxes of supplies that littered the living area. Clearly the bot was a klepto. She could not imagine him going into the store in his holoform and buying what she needed.   
  
It did make her wonder, not for the first time, how long he had been planning this and why he was doing it. Barricade had made no move to hurt her after the first day. He had made little move to communicate with her at all. As far as she could tell he had made no moves to contact the Autobots either.   
  
She turned and eyed him where he sat across the room, lost in an apparent recharge. She finally sat at the edge of the cement slab, watching him more out of boredom than anything else. The once pristine white was more of a muddy grey. She found that odd. The Autobots were, at best, finicky about the condition of their exteriors. At their worst they were more vain than high school cheerleaders. She shook herself away from the idea of Optimus with pompoms. Mikaela stood, crossing the warehouse intent on taking a closer look at him. To call Barricade muddy was, at best, a kindness that she didn’t think he deserved. Mikaela drew a fingers across his white paint. Her finger came back caked in a layer of filth.  
  
Barricade’s optics flashed red as he came out of recharge. “What are you doing, fleshling?” he growled at her, his voice filled with tired irritation. It did nothing to dissuade her curiosity.  
  
Mikaela shrugged, “Does it matter? Why am I even here?”   
  
The Decepticon’s optics shuttered for a moment as he forced them to reopen with all the patience he had. Barricade looked down at her hard. He evaluated his opponent before finally speaking. “You are here because I choose for you to be here,” he replied in an ambiguous tone, that made her blood pressure rise. He noted it, as well as the way the blood rose to her cheeks. “What does it matter? It is not as if the boy has use for you any longer. Does he?” He baited her. He couldn’t help himself. “Why would he want you when he has the little insect?” He bent down, their faces nearly touching. “No one wants you. They have not even looked for you. They care that much.”    
  
Makaela bristled, understanding what seeing red meant for the first time. She snapped at him with all her fury. “Then it seems like you’re making a real big effort for nothing, doesn’t it? Why waste your time with me if they aren’t looking for me? Why not let me go? Or kill me?” something he said seeped through her haze of anger. The insect? Bumblebee? “And---ew---he doesn’t---it isn’t like that. It isn’t like that at all.” Her face lost its color, and she shook her head. “They couldn’t even do anything---Bumblebee---and Sam.... Why would they want to?” She shook her head, feeling sick as she remembered how lifelike Bumblebee’s holoform was. All the time and effort he had put into mimicking human gestures. Why would he need to do that?  
  
“They don’t need you. They don’t want you. They certainly have not put forth any effort to find you, fleshling.”   
  
Mikaela glared up at him with simmering hatred, but she did not back down. The fleshling was brave, he would give her that.   
  
She finally turned away, her back straight, and pushed down the dread going through her chest. Perhaps, he was right. Certainly, she was still here. That didn’t mean she needed to lie back and take his insults. It was better when he wasn’t paying any attention to her at all. “They do not,” she finally said. “Still doesn’t not tell me why you brought me here.”    
  
“That is for me to know and you to wonder,” he said. His optics following her as he scanned her, her stress levels clearly high. “Go eat, fleshling. Your blood sugar is low,” he grumbled, frowning inside as he assessed her condition. And then frowning more at the fact he cared at all.  
  
She scowled back at him, not moving. “I am not hungry.”  
  
“I do not care. You need to refuel,” he said, making it more of an order than a statement. “Eat.”  
  
Mikaela’s eyes narrowed, and she stomped back over to him, hand on her hips. “No.”  
  
“I was not asking you,” the mech’s voice was cold and filled with promises of what would happen to her if she didn’t do as he said.. “Go eat before I make you.”  
  
“No,” Mikaela repeated, knowing she was acting both foolish, as well as juvenile. She glared even as she plopped down where she had stood.   
  
Barricade watched her for a moment, feeling sour about it. He considered his options. He could pluck her up in his hands, but that would hardly solve the issue. He finally settled on just asking her. “Why?”  
  
She blinked, taken aback. “I want...real food,” she finally said. “Living on junk food is just going to make me sick anyway. We don’t live on the stuff you brought. Well, not if we want to stay anything resembling healthy.” Her stomach rumbled, echoing her sentiments. “I need protein, vegetables, fruits...I would offline an Autobot for a pound of strawberries...anything but...chips and cookies,” she frowned at him. “All foods are not equal. Making me live on cookies and sweets is like letting a jet try to run on unleaded.”  
  
He considered it and accessed the internet, frowning when what he found confirmed what she said.  
  
“I want a steak or at the very least a cheeseburger,” she continued. Her eyes had taken on a bright sheen at the mention of meat. “Something warm, and...not sweet. Please.” It made her wince to say it, but it tumbled off of her lips again. “Please.”    
  
“Fine,” he shrugged, looking down at the girl. “Get dressed. We will get food and any other supplies you need.” He eyed her, and poked a talon in her face. “If you try to escape, I will kill you, and every human I come across. I suggest you behave.”  
  
She blinked up at him, rolling her eyes at the threat. “Ah....give me a second.” She sprinted across the room, grabbed a semi-clean outfit and changed out of her clothes. She brushed her hair, finally checking her reflection. What she wouldn’t have given for some make-up. She looked passable, not that it really mattered.    
  
Barricade frowned and watched the fleshling, his optics resting on her bare skin for a moment before he looked away. Transforming into his alt form, he brought his holoform into being. He changed the clothing, jeans and a black t-shirt. He’d seen many young, off duty, police officers walk out of their stations dressed this way when he had been hiding in their parking lots. All he needed to complete the look would have been a leather jacket and a pair of sunglasses worn more for fashion than function. He thought about for half a klik and then added them. If he was going to play the part he might as well go full out. “We do not have all night, fleshling,” he ground out in irritation.    
  
The passenger door popped open, and she paused only for a moment before climbing in. The loading door opened of its own accord as they approached it. He either had it wired to a frequency only he could activate or he had set it to recognize his energy signature. Both methods were in employ at the Autobot embassy and both had fascinated her. She’d spent hours asking Ratchet and Wheeljack how they had programmed them to identify human signatures as well as the Cybertronian ones. If she ever got back she would describe Barricade’s set up and see what had made it tick.  
  
They sped down the road for what seemed like an eternity. The landscape was sparse, and Mikaela did not recognize the area, or the town they finally drove into. Still, she looked about hungrily at the life around her. It felt as though she had been locked away for an eternity.  
  
He couldn't say he had ever understood some bots penchants for keeping such fleshlings as pets before but he was starting to, and it scared him. He was also quite sure one didn’t feel some of these creeping emotions toward a pet. Barricade looked at her again, feelings of familiarity and comfort coursing through his lines, as he considered the situation.    
  
They went through not one fast food place but two, paying with cash he had hidden in the glovebox.    
  
Mikaela's brows rose together as she wondered, for the briefest moment where, he had gotten it. She did not dwell on it though, but ate her cheeseburger slowly all the same. It was as easily as good as a steak to her deprived system. She smacked her lips in barely exaggerated satisfaction as they sat in the parking lot of a mom and pop store. She made a show of ignoring the napkins and wiping the grease from her fingers across his seat. Mikaela knew Barricade knew she had done it on purpose, the small scowl as her fingers had went across the fabric was hard to miss. He felt he had shown amazing restraint in saying nothing.  
  
The place he had chosen was a little grocery store. A dime a dozen family operation that probably hadn’t updated its facade since sometime in the 80’s. She looked around and raised a brow. “Why here?”  
  
“No security cameras. At least, nothing networked,” he pointed out. “Do you think I am stupid enough to take you to one of those places?”  
  
“The Autobots---”  
  
“Are not looking for you,” he cut her off, clamping a hand around her wrist. “That does not mean the human authorities are not. They would be bothersome. I would hate to scrub your blood off my interior because you couldn’t behave. It would be...tedious.”  
  
She pulled at her wrist, trying not to show that his statement had affected her. “You’re overdue for a wash anyway,” she hissed back. He smiled, dropping her hand only to put an arm around her shoulder, pulling her a bit too close.  
  
“You are going to go in there, you are going to behave yourself, or Primus help me, I will be getting that wash later this evening.” His tone was soft, almost jovial, like killing her was something that should be joked about. Maybe it was. Maybe he had become so numb to his actions that killing her would just be another normal night for him.  
  
She allowed him to help her out of the car, and then to hold her hand the entire trip through the store. He said nothing as she grabbed a basket and indicated he should hold it so she could grab her purchases with her free hand. Ignoring the brightly colored packages that she had been eating out of since he first abducted her she pulled him straight for a sign that said “Locally Grown Produce.” This was exactly what she had needed.  
  
She then headed for feminine aisle, and idly noted that he must look like the world’s best boyfriend as she threw some thing that she would need soon in their basket. She gave a longing look to the small cosmetics display on the other side of the aisle. What she wouldn’t give for a little lipstick. For a woman who had spent so much time on her appearance she felt practically naked without it.  
  
He tilted his head as he noticed her stare. “Something you want?”  
  
“It’s nothing,” she shrugged, still not able to look away.  
  
“It’s obviously something if you keep looking at it,” he teased, pulling her closer to the display so he could see what had caught her attention. Little rolls and squares of color, some with instructions right on the packaging. Human paint. He didn’t really see the point in it, but it looked harmless enough. “You may have some, if you really want it.”  
  
She couldn’t hide her pleased hum as she leaned in to look over the offerings. And he couldn’t hide his own answering pleasure at being the cause of hers. This was becoming dangerous.  
  
He paid for the sundries she had picked out, flashing the cashier a smile and noting a rise in her blood pressure when the other female smiled back. Interesting. He grabbed the bags with one hand and her hand with the other as they left the store, looking for all intents like a normal couple. He smirked, the passenger door of his alt form popping open. She got in without an argument, and began attacking the bags before the door was even closed. He cross referenced the fruit she was quickly working her way through. Strawberries. He also noted she should be washing them first, and made sure to have a comment ready if she was sick later in the night.  
  
He watched her, leaning in he touched the bare skin on her neck, it was smooth and soft. He was silent for a moment. He checked his processor, and frowned inside. He enjoyed it when she was content like this, but he also enjoyed it when she was prickly. She was amusing. More than amusing. He watched her,and contemplated something he had never before, not consciously at any rate. It was not uncommon among the Autobots, at least, to feel affection for organics. The perverse creatures. The Decepticons, less so. He let the idea roll around in his processor a little more, and decided he did not find it so distasteful as it once was. Two weeks of her oh-so-pleasant company and she was growing on him. Even Megatron had a bit of a weakness for such creatures. He hadn’t been joking when he had offered to make the Insect’s boy his pet. His uncle had valued bravery and feistiness in his toys. Granted Megatron’s pets rarely lived long at all. He was a petulant master at best. The same snide comment that would earn an organic a chuckle one cycle might result in their deactivation the next. Still he let the idea roll around in his processor. Even he could tell she was beautiful for her kind. He considered it a bit harder, then opened the cellular data link and started looking through the internet.  
  
Mikaela looked out the window, watched the scenery pass as she squirmed in the seat. She had gobbled down a whole carton of strawberries, as if it would somehow give her comfort. Instead it made her gut ache, the tightness in her chest not leaving. She knew this feeling. Knew it intimately. Depressed was the best word for how she was feeling at that moment, Depressed with a capital “D”. She had let him buy her compliance with a bit of fruit and a little make up. There was a word for that and it wasn’t a nice one. She sighed and let herself drift off as she looked out the window. It was pleasantly warm and the seat was soft against her skin. She sighed again, her heart hurt. She considered everything he had said before they left. About Sam. About Bee. It made her eyes sting. She pushed it all away. There was no way she would admit such weakness in front of him. She couldn’t. Not and expect to live through it.  
  
The silence grew to the point that it was a nearly palpable thing. He watched her, considering his words carefully. His eyes narrowed and his expression grew cagey. “What is wrong, little fleshling? I allowed you to get the supplies you insisted on. I even allowed you some frivolity.”  
  
“Thinking about home,” she admitted before she realized what she was saying.  
  
“Still mulling over the little Insect and his socket?” He asked, more curious to her reaction that anything.  
  
She merely blinked at him.  “His socket? What?” She gave his holoform a sideways glance.  
  
He barked a laugh, clearly amused by her confusion. “A socket, my dear fleshling, is an admittedly crude word for organics. Well for an organic that a Cybertronian has made their own. Generally it’s a sex toy. But sometimes it’s just a slovenly devoted pet. It really depends on what circle you ran with as to how it was used. But believe me, it was never meant to be a good thing,” his holoform smirked at her. “That boy is the little Insect’s socket as surely as I have energon in my lines.” He gave her a sideways glance, watching her reaction.  
  
Mikaela turned pale, not for the first time tonight. “You’re sick! It isn’t like that,” she said, knowing it sounded weak to even her ears. “How could they even...”  
  
“Oh, but it is.” He smiled, amused by her denial. “I am able to touch you, am I not? The same principles apply, my dear fleshling.”  
  
She looked out the window, doing her best to ignore him. It was difficult since he seemed to be all about her.  Mikaela hugged herself tightly. The urge to curl up into a ball and cry was hard to resist. “You are wrong,” she finally said. Her voice was strained and hoarse. “Sam and Bee aren’t like that. They aren’t,” she denied.  “They are close but It. Is. Not. Like. That.” She tried to growl it out but it sounded weak to her own ears. Some part of her was awakening to the idea. How often did they touched when there wasn’t a need to? The loving glances between boy and Autobot? Had something been going on this whole time, carried out under her nose?  
  
He stopped, pulling off the side of the road and leaning in. “I am right. If they are not already lovers, I can assure you, my little fleshling, they will be soon.” His holoform leaned in, nearly nuzzling into her neck. She smelled so sweet, and her skin was warm. He nearly shivered in the anticipation of it. Now that he had accepted the idea it was torturous to wait to act on it. “The boy is marked. I can assure you, the Insect will not wait around forever to seal the bond. He has already marked the boy with his nanites. No bot within a hundred miles could mistake the Insect’s intentions.  Do you understand me?” He briefly wondered if it would be worth the hassle to attempt to initiate a mating on the side of the highway. He set the thought aside, she wouldn’t be willing and he wanted her to be a participant in this. It would be easier for what he had in mind. “Do you understand me?”  Barricade asked again.  
  
She shivered, “I do.”  


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Pursuit. Part 1: Chapter 2. The Things We Do For Love.

 **Verse:** Multi-Continuity A/U

 **Series:** Pursuit

 **Rating:** M

 **Warnings:** Warnings for this Chapter: Xeno, Dubious consent. Implied Past Mech-Preg. Sparklings. Family-ties.

 **Pairings:** Barricade/Mikaela

 **Summary:** In which Mikaela goes for a ride.

 **Note:** See ending notes.

_“When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.”_

_~Theodore Roosevelt_

_Chapter 2. The Things We Do For Love._

_Barricade looked at the little sparkling placed before him and scowled at it. What did he need with this little mewling monster? He frowned up at his progenitor, not liking how he picked up the younger sparkling, holding him close. He used to do the same to Barricade when he was little. Now he was just too busy._

_“This is Bumblebee.” Orion Pax smiled. “Your youngest cousin. You could go as far as to say he is your uncle’s gift to you. Now you’ll have a playmate close to your own age. You will take care of him, won’t you? He’s family, Barricade, your family. And we must take care of our family above all others because family is what makes life worth living.” He put a hand on his son’s small shoulder._

_Barricade could only frown, looking from his father to the sparkling and back. All he could feel was a horrible jealousy building up inside his processor._

_His creator walked in, smiling down at him as she picked him up easily.She hugged him tightly to her. “How is my little spark today? Are you done looking at your gift? Would you like to start your lessons? Shall we do singing or composing first, today?” Elita laughed, and smiled brightly at him. Her smile was like sunshine to Barricade. A bright spot in his little cold world. He clung to her, and would have clung harder had he known what was to come._

He came out of recharge slowly this time. His processor already running through his files. His mother had been smart, headstrong, and so brave. Mikaela was...like her, his processor concluded. He reviewed the other memories of organics he had encountered. His logic processor could only postulate that he had been terribly wrong about those encounters. He could only wonder how he would fix it. He supposed it would have to start by doing right for the fleshing in his care.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

They sped down the road, under the moon’s half-hearted light. Mikaela leaned out the window, hair whipping, the moonlight skimming across her features. She leaned out, pressing her cheek against Barricade’s door before tilting her head up to watch the stars. “It’s beautiful.”

He hummed through the speakers, “Nothing like the racing on Cybertron.” 

“No, I can’t imagine it is, no one to race here. Not at this time of night. Where are we going anyway?” She pulled herself back inside, curling up into the driver’s seat. It was warm against her skin already chilled by the night air.

“Nowhere,” came his reply after a long pause. “Out. I just needed to get out. It’s hard staying one place for too long.” 

“It makes you restless. I know. I’ve...noticed,” she traced a hand across the console, sinking further into the seat. Her nail scraped across dark grey plastic, nearly laughing at the purr that emanated from his speakers and all around her. If she let herself drift and linger in the moment, it was easy to forget. She didn’t want to dwell on her old life. It had never been that great, between her father’s jail time, and Trent. Mikaela didn’t like to think about Trent, that relationship had meant nothing. He had always been an excuse, a cover to keep the rest at bay.

Even her time with Sam had been nothing but a jumble of incidents that left her unbalanced.

“You are quiet tonight,” Barricade rumbled, when she made no move to fill the silence. Mikaela was rarely this still.

“I just have a lot on my mind. Give a girl a break,” the smile that inched on her face was evident in her tone. “Tell me a story.”

His frenetic pace slowed. “What?” The clouds drifting over the moon, bathing them both in darkness. He didn’t miss the way she sighed, and wiggled as she settled herself. It was distracting, everything about her was distracting. It had become increasingly more so during the weeks that they had shared together.

“A bedtime story, I am tired,” Mikaela said dramatically faking a yawn. “Anything, I don’t care. Why did you join the war? What was Cybertron like. Anything. I don’t care. Just talk to me.” She barely held in her laughter at the rumbling growl that filled the interior, vibrating through her body. Predictable.

“Are you ordering me about, human?”

She snorted. His threats had lost their bite sometime in the third or fourth week. She wasn’t sure anymore. Time kept slipping away leaving her behind in this limbo with him. “If I am, what are you going to do about it? Drop me off on the side of the road? I dare you.”

“Don’t tempt me.” The growl was expected, as was the flutter in her chest.

“Com’on. Humor me,” she cajoled. “Sing to me. Something, Baaaarrriiicade.”

“Humans,” he barked, pace picking up as the city's lights brightened the horizon. “You need fuel, don’t you? You always act like you’ve tripped a circuit when you are low.” He scanned her, worried that he was wrong, and there truly was something wrong with -his- human. He tried not to think of her that way, but there was a certain proprietary feeling that always reared it’s head where she was concerned. 

“I’m fine.” Her finger’s tapped a rhythm across the console, before finally crawling over into the passenger seat. She eyed the space she had occupied, and then the holoform that materialized in it. “What, you don’t believe me?” 

He reached over and touched her, “No, I don’t believe you. You lie all the time.” Fingers brushed across her arm, drawing a path down it.

“I lie? Whatever, Tinman. You still owe me a story.”

“I don’t owe you anything, fleshling,” he looked ahead, but his expression softened. “I joined the war out of a misplaced sense of duty and because I felt as though I had been wronged, horribly wronged by my creators. I was young, and foolish.. My creator’s brother used that to his advantage, to his own means.” His eyes flicked to her face. “Megatron was always very persuasive. He knew what buttons to push, and how much I resented...others. I wish I could make you understand. I was---part of the ruling family, and I was never worthy of it. I never felt worthy in any case. I caused trouble to get attention. Broke laws...all to gain my creator’s attention.” His holoform looked out the window, pain written across his face.

“Parents make things hard. I know that from experience. My father was in jail more than he was out,” she winced, “It didn’t make me love him any less. But it had consequences. I spent time in juvie.” She watched confusion settle over his features. 

“What is...juvie?”

“Mmmm...prison for children, I guess,” she looked away, clenching her fingers. 

“What...they put sparkling in...prison? What kind of monsters are your people?” She laughed quietly at the offence in his tone. “Why would they do such a thing?” 

“Grand theft auto. My dad stole cars, and I would help. There was this chop shop he’d take them to. It was all kinds of messed up, and it landed me into a world of trouble. I’m not proud out if.”

He reached out, taking her hand in his own, giving it a little squeeze. Silence fell through his interior, but it was not uncomfortable, just full of a mutual understanding. Despite everything they were so much alike.

Sometime along the ride she had drifted to sleep.

The crunch of gravel under Barricade’s treads, and the smell of food wafting through the car finally roused her. Her stomach growled loudly, taking offence to her continuing to slumber. She sat up, and groped at the warm bag at her side. It could not have sat there two long. The hamburger and french fries in side were still warm. She wasted little time eating them. The hamburger was gone in less than a minute, but she lingered over the french fries, licking the salt off of her fingers as she ate them. “Where are we?”

“Does it matter?” his holoform watched her, a smile pressing across his features.

She popped a fry into her mouth, chewing it thoughtfully before replying. “Not really, I’m just,” she smiled, “along for the ride.” It was getting easier to forget why she was even really here. “Are we heading...ho---er---back anytime soon? I would like to sleep in a real bed.”

“If you must,” he said.

She popped the last fry into her mouth, and crumpled up the sack.

The trip back passed in a blur, the drive lulled her to sleep. She didn’t stir as they made it back to the warehouse, or when Barricade finally tucked her into the bed.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Mikaela sighed, hugging her knees to her chest as she listened to the haunting music that filled the warehouse, it had roused her from her sleep minutes before. She closed her eyes. It was nearly a palpable thing making her breath catch in her chest, and her heart flutter wildly.

She moved across the room where he was playing some sort of instrument, it was black and sleek not unlike the mech himself. It looked vaguely like an elongated violin. The strings glowed faintly, lighting up Barricade’s faceplates as he played. She watched him, mesmerized as he wrung a haunting melody from the instrument. The bow seemed an extension of his arm. She took a step closer, her breath catching in her chest. She had not realized she had even been holding her breath until the pressure became unbearable. Her eyes stung, the melody hitting her hard. She has never heard anything so...sad. It felt as though her heart was squeezing in her chest.

One tear rolled down her cheek, she wiped it away, ducking her head in embarrassment. She had never been one to let her emotions get the better of her, and never really one to cry.

He heard the noise. It seemed to startle him out of his own trance. He watched her finally putting the stringed instrument down.

“That was beautiful,” she breathed, her eyes fluttering across the mech’s facade, and finally met his optics. “What is that?” She moved close, almost close enough to touch him her gaze fixed on the instrument.

“It’s a quatern.” He finally said, “I think that’s how it would translate.” He nodded, stroking the quatern, digits smoothing over the sleek metal. “Thank you,” he finally said, placing the instrument carefully in its case. “It is one of the first pieces I ever composed,” he said quietly. “I was not always like this. Not always.” He breathed a sigh through his vents. “The irony of it,” he said ruefully. “Music was once my life. Music and poetry. I miss it sometimes. Performing. The music.”

She nodded, her eyes rapt. “You---you wrote that? Wow. You miss it don’t you?”

“How could I not,” he agreed, picking her up gently, he placed her in one hand, looking at her. “Are you hungry?” he asked, not bothering to scan her to find the truth.

“A bit,” she finally said, trying not to sound too eager about it. On one hand she enjoyed the drives. They always seemed to put him in a good mood. “Go get dressed then,” he said, his gaze calculating as he watched her. 

“Just give me a moment,” she said, throwing on a clean set of clothing. “Do you mind if we pick up a few things?” She finally asked, her tone unintentionally pleading. 

He looked at her and nodded, finally transforming into his Alt-form, his holoform already waiting for her. It did not get in until she was settled in the passenger seat. His holoform’s eyes flicked across to her, his lips curled into an amused smile. He touched her shoulder, and she did not seem amiss. Maybe she was used to him touching her by now. Sometimes he thought she would even lean into it. 

She folded the list of what she needed into her pocket, her attention falling squarely on him. “Where are we going tonight?” She asked, not really expecting an answer.

“It is a secret.” He smiled, a low chuckle coming from his throat, the Saleen flying down the dirt road.

“It’s always a secret.” Mikaela said dryly, relaxing against the seat. He seemed to be in a downright jovial mood. She couldn’t say she minded. She let herself sink back into the seat and closed her eyes. They were going fast. So very fast. 

He chuckled softly, watching her. He was always watching her. It had upset her at first. It was a worrying thing, but like everything else she had grown used to it, nearly to expect it. Mikaela had always been a girl to roll with the punches.

She had come to expect that she would not recognize the town they would be visiting. They drove for what seemed like an eternity. She didn’t need to lean over to check the speedometer to know they were going over one hundred. Perhaps it should have made her panic. A normal person would have. Mikaela could not say that she was normal. She had always liked cars, and fast cars more so. They slowed down as they neared whatever little town they were pulling into. She didn’t crane her neck to check for a sign. She couldn’t say she cared anymore. At this point she was sure he would not hurt her, but the other humans around them...she was not so sure. She was not so naive as to imagine he would not slaughter any humans around if she attempted to make a run for it. She had no reason to doubt his word on that.

“What would you like tonight,” he asked, giving her a sideways glance, and watched the play of emotion across her face. Her face was so very telling. 

She considered her options. “Pizza, I guess. I haven’t had that in a while.” 

He watched her, “No. The whole point in taking you out is to vary your diet, is it not? And that is more junk than food, if I am not mistaken.” He added, he was quiet for a moment, “No. Not that. Let’s have a little fun tonight” 

Her brows went up. He rarely overrode her choice and she had to wonder what his idea of fun was going to be. He finally stopped in the parking lot of Bonfamille's. It was a small family run restaurant, busy, but not crowded.

“Behave,” he admonished her as his holoform got out. The passenger door opened, and taking the hint she got out as well. He took her hand, and she knew for all intents they looked like any normal young couple. She glanced at his holoform and flushed. He at least had picked a handsome one. His hair was dark, and short, his holoform’s eyes an unusual shade amber, but it fit. He put an arm around her shoulder and turned a bright smile on the hostess. 

The girl smiled back, “Name?” 

“Cade,” he said smoothly, “just the two of us.” 

The girl nodded, “Let me check what tables are free right now.” She moved back, checking her chart. “Table or booth?” She asked.

“Booth,” the Decepticon said not missing a beat. His arm never left Mikaela’s shoulder as they walked over to the booth in questions. He slid in beside her, trapping her between him and the wall.

The hostess didn’t comment on it, but set the menus in front of them. “You’re waitress will be with you in a moment, in the meantime could I get you both something to drink?”

“A Budweiser, for me. And a blush wine for her. The house wine is fine, unless you would suggest something else?” He considered it, his lips twitching up into an amused smile. “Just bring the bottle.”

The hostess nodded, “I will have to see some ID.” 

“Of course,” he said easily, producing two pieces of plastic from his wallet and handing them to the woman. She looked them over and handed them back, “I will be right back with your drinks then.”

Mikaela blinked at him, craning to look at the cards that were still lying on the table. It looked real. They both did. “Mikaela and Barry Cade. Ah...what the fuck,” she breathed under her breath. 

He snorted, picking the cards up. “Compared to other systems the BMV is an easy hack.” 

She sat back against the cushions of the booth, shaking her head. The longer the situation went on, the more surreal it became. 

Their waitress came over some minutes later with their drinks. “Hello, my name is Tess, I will be your waitress today. Do you know what you want or do you need a few minutes?” The girl rattled off in her perky tone.

Barricade turned his attention to the waitress, an easy smile on his holoform. It made Mikaela shake her head. People always trusted him... if they only knew. He looked at the menu, then at the waitress, “Well, we are celebrating our two month wedding anniversary, would you suggest anything?”

“Oh my god, that is so cute. You’re still counting in months?” The waitress nearly squealed. “That is so cute,” she said again. “Was it a big ceremony?”

“No, not at all.” Barricade continued, watching Mikaela out of the corner of his eye, his amusement apparent. “We eloped. Her family doesn’t approve of me,” he murmured, “Do they, Mikaela? Her brother, Sam, and I never really got on, did we?”

Mikaela sputtered, taking a sip of the wine. “Ah, right. They never really did,” she caught herself playing along with an amused look on her face, “You can’t expect them to, sweetie. You sucker-punched my brother’s bestfriend the first time you met.”

Barricade’s smile grew, pleased that she was participating in this game. “True enough. What do you suggest though?”

“Oh, the bruschetta is a really good starter. The Lasagna Rollata al Forno is good, and so is the Capellini Pomodoro, as it the Fettuccine Alfredo.”

“Sure, the bruschetta, that’s fine. I will take the lasagna and the fettucini for my dear Mikaela.” 

The waitress nodded, grabbing the menus. “I will put that in then.” She strode away.

Mikaela frowned. “Two months? It’s really been two whole months? I want a divorce then.”

Barricade chuckled, “I fear that isn’t an option, my sweet little fleshling. And, yes, two months to the day.”

She sighed, “Can I at least have some water?”

He considered it. “No, the wine sufficient. It is not as if you will be driving home, Mikaela.”

“Right,” she agreed, frowning as she picked up the glass and took an experimental sip. It was sweet and crisp. 

He watched her through hooded eyes, settling on her neck, then lower. He was very curious, but his curiosity would be assuaged soon enough. His arm went back around her shoulder. Soon enough. He had been very patient, but that was coming to an end.

The waitress returned, interrupting his musing, and sat the bruschetta in from of them. He gave her what would appear to be a grateful smile.

 

“The rest of your food should be out shortly, enjoy.”

“Oh, we will,” he said watching her leave. 

Mikaela finished the glass of wine and he poured her another, still smiling. She picked at the bread, eating a few pieces.

“We can bring the rest home,” he said, watching her. 

Their orders came and she ate in silence. Mikaela felt flushed from the wine. not drunk, but more than tipsy. She finished the second glass, her skin feeling pleasantly glowing with it, and ate until she was full. 

When he was sure she was finished he paid the bill with the waitress, and got the take home boxes. Mikaela was silent as she boxed up the food and put it in the bag the waitress had provided. He left a more than generous tip. Not one so big she would really recall it though. Mikaela wobbled as she walked for a moment, and his arm snaked around her waist steadying her. They reached his alt form, and he scanned her as the door open for her while he helped her inside. The scan came back as he expected, her vital signs were strong, her blood alcohol level just past 0.10. It wasn’t so high she would have ill effects in the morning, but more than high enough for his needs. The door shut, closing her in, and his holoform took the driver’s seat, amused by the turn of events.

Mikaela rested against the seat and let her eyes close. The wine made her feel pleasantly warm, and the food in her stomach made her content.

They pulled into the store, and he plucked the list she had left on the console. “Stay here. I will be right back.” If she had any other ideas they were taken away by the click as she was locked inside. 

She sat up, frowning. He wasn’t gone long, and she had no doubt that he had gotten everything on her list. This was a change though, an odd and puzzling one. If she didn’t know better she would say he was in a hurry. She let her eyes close, listening to his return, then they were on their way once more. 

Barricade was quiet for the ride back to the warehouse. She would have almost call it agitated. Brooding, she finally settled on. Definitely Brooding.

“Did I do something wrong?” Mikaela finally asked, frowning into the darkness outside the window. 

He was silent as if he was considering it. “No, fleshling. You have not done anything wrong. Nothing wrong at all.” He watched her, but was silent again, his processors whirling. It was tempting to stop where they were, but he dismissed the idea. He had waited this long, he could wait a bit longer. 

They finally reached the warehouse its door sliding smoothly shut behind them, leaving them in dark for one moment before he activated the lighting. The passenger door opened, for Mikaela to step out, still slightly unsteady on her feet. Barricade took her arm, lead her across the room to sit on the bed, He watched her for a moment, and Miaela squirmed under his gaze. He was acting more than a little peculiar tonight.

“Stay there,” he admonished. 

Mikaela stared at his holoform as it walked back to his alt mode. He was acting very odd, or at least more so than normal. She watched him make his way back with a bag in hand. He pushed it at her all the while looking anywhere but at her face. 

“Barricade?” Mikaela huffed softly, looking inside, and raising a brow as she pulled out a slip of material. Silver, at least what little there was of the garment. She looked at him, then back at the lingerie. Her lip twitched up. “Ah, Barricade, are you propositioning me?” The grin on her face grew at the look on his face.

Mikaela considered it, and then considered his holoform. “Ah, okay,” she said, throwing common sense out the window.

Scooping up the scrap of cloth she moved to the bathroom and slipped it on. Her skin prickled against the cold of the room. It was replaced by a flush when she stepped back out and watched him as he watched her. There was something dark in Barricade’s gaze that Mikaela did not entirely understand it, but then she really did not understand him.

“Come here,” he breathed. Barricade watched her like a hawk would a mouse it was very intent on devouring.

Mikaela did as he asked, crossing the space between them slowly. A gasp escaped her lips when he pulled her against his holoform, kissing her. His lips were hard against her own, bruising at first; only to kiss her in a more leisurely manner, then marveling at the feeling. Had he realized it felt this good he might not have waited so very long. Barricade pushed her back, until she tumbled onto the bed. 

Mikaela tried to think past the surge of heat running through her. It was impossible to do when he was already stripping the scrap of clothing from her, tossing it off to the side. She squirmed beneath him. He seemed intent on tasting, nipping or licking every bit or her. Mikaela tried to push past the confusion that clouded her mind; tried to understand; tried to wrap her mind around it. It was apparent he wanted her, she felt the hard length of him pressing against her, but he also seemed inclined to prologue it. She opened her mouth, not sure is she was going to protest or plead for more.

“Barricade,” she finally heard the words fall from her mouth.

“Shhh,” he admonished as he kissed her into silence, his hands moved along her skin. This was far better than he imagined it would be. Barricade pushed into her, then froze. He shut his eyes tightly in order to gain control himself. Mikaela wiggled beneath him, and he pressed down on her for a moment, “Stop,” He ordered, then shivered before he was finally able control over himself. Barricade pressed his lips to hers, hips moving against her until he found the rhythm he wanted. He used the weeks of research on her, not content until he had her gasping and crying out beneath him. Until he finally took what he wanted himself.

Afterwards Mikaela lay panting, and dazed beside him, something he found he was not adverse to. She didn’t complain as he pulled her against him, her skin still warm and damp. Barricade’s sensors checked her, noting the steady, fast, beat of her heart and the pheromones she exuded. 

Mikaela let him pull her against his holoform, her breath still coming fast. She curled closer to him, closing her eyes as he smoothed a hand across her heated skin. Something had changed. She felt different, and it was not just post orgasmic bliss.

“What have you done to me?” Mikaela asked in a whisper.

“Nothing,” he said, but she could hear the pleased intonation of his voice. He pulled her closer, nuzzling into her hair, nipping at her neck. He kissed her, insistent.

“You are lying,” she said, voice rising. She struggled against him, heart pounding in her chest. “What have you done to me? I do not feel right. What have you done?” her voice rose in pitch, on the edge of hysteria. He held onto her tightly as he struggled against him. Held her until she quieted. 

A whimper started in her chest and reverberated. He frowned, feeling dampness hit his arm, her emotion overwhelming to him.

“Mikaela. What is the matter?” He held on tightly, and listened to her continue to make the oddly keening sound, until finally she fell to silence, her breath ragged. 

“I won’t be your....your socket,” she said her voice coming out had an oddly hysterical note to it. “I’m not a toy. I won’t be a pet.”

He sighed. “You mistake my intentions.” 

“You said Bee...”

“For once in your life, fleshling, hush.” He did not want to hurt her. He wasn’t sure when it had started to matter to him, but it did. “That is not my intention.” He said again. “You are mine, yes, I have marked you with my nanites, no bot will deny it. But it is not a bad thing for you. They will keep you healthy, they heal on a cellular level. You will not age. And by the same token, your world’s law recognizes our union as such.”

She went still in his arms. “What do you mean?”

“The drivers licenses, they are not inaccurate.”

“They are not...what did you do?” She asked, the horror clear in her voice. 

“I take what I want, Mikaela.”

“I don’t doubt it for a second,” she finally said, “I never have.”

OoOoOoOoOoOo

_Tyger pax..._

_Barricade looked down at Andromeda’s broken body, one arm had been ripped off and there were long rends in the metal plating of her chest. The exposed wires sparked faintly. Some part of his processor told him he had done this. Her opticals were even dulling now. He did not want to do this, but he found himself so mired within the ranks of the Decepticons that it was no longer a choice. Not a choice if he wanted to live, anyway. Andromeda’s life fluids dripped from his fingers in an unsteady beat. He looked down at the small puddle of pink fluid forming. The floor was already slick with oil, and other fluids Barricade could not name, from the bots._

_“Please, please not Bee. Not my Bumblebee, my little honey bee. Please no, Cade. Please.” Andromeda murmured like a mantra. “I will give you what you want.”_

_Barricade looked around at the carnage. They had left him alone, even Megatron having grown bored after he had seen Polaris and Aria ripped apart while still alive. “There is nothing you can give me,” he said. Nothing. He reached down, pulling her spark from her casing, watching her now lifeless body for a moment. There was nothing. His eyes flicked to the Insect. There was only so much he could do. Only so much._

_“Have they all been sent to the pits?” He heard Megatron say behind him, ripping him from his thoughts._

_Barricade looked up at him. The first of many lies sliding easily out of his vocal processor. “Just the youngest remains. The rest have been permanently off-lined.” He prayed to Primus that Megatron would not count bodies, and discover nine instead of eleven. To his relief his fearless leader believed him. Barricade reasoned, what other reason would Megatron have to doubt his word. They were family. A little voice in the back of his head reminded him that so were all of the dead bots in this room. His optics settled on Andromeda’s still form, and then went to Bumblebee’s, the only soldier to arise from a family of 12. The others had been civilians; scientists, diplomats and artists. The yellow mech lay in restraints by the pile of parts that had once been his progenitor and creator, keening wildly and shouting threats at the Decepticons near him. “Loud, isn’t he? Let’s shut him up, shall we? We should rip that one’s vocal processors out and send him back to Optimus. It would kill him.”_

_As he expected, Megatron’s face lit up in a cruel smile. He was so predictable._

Barricade came out of recharge with a start, regret and disgust echoed through his processor. The horror of what he had done sinking in all over again.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

When she woke he was playing, again. It was a pleasant way to wake up, she could admit. Even if the night before did come rushing back to her. He had covered her up, but she had nothing on underneath. And while she had never been overly modest it still made her sigh inside. Mikaela pull the covers around her shoulders as she walked towards the bathroom. Shutting the door firmly, she turned the shower on, sighing again while waiting for the water to warm before stepping in. Mikaela scrubbed her skin to remove the smell of sex and sweat that still lingered on her. She sighed yet again as she ducked her head under the flow. She let it wash over her as his music did the same. At best she was confused, a little scared, and perhaps she would still be mad as well if she wasn’t so tired. She switched the flow of water off and started her morning routine. Mikaela smoothed lotion over her skin, brushed through her hair and finally donned her armour of the day. It covered more skin than usual. She could not, for once, bear to have herself so exposed.

Mikaela stepped out of the little room and watched the mech from across the warehouse. His attention was fixed on the quatern, but he stopped after a moment, and motioned her over. She crossed the space between them, nervousness clear in her posture despite the determined look on her face.

Much to her dismay he plucked her up, setting her gently down on his shoulder. She opened her mouth to speak, closed it, and finally settled on a safer subject as she clung tightly to the armour on his shoulder. “ That song...did you compose it as well? It is different than the one from this morning.” she finally asked, giving him pause.

He considered his answer, and finally he made a hissing sound, and his frame shook. It took Mikaela a moment to realize he was chuckling at her. “No. It is not the same piece, although I composed them both. The song from the other day...it is...” he paused searching for the words in her language. “based on an old ballad. About two lovers,” he said, chagrin in his voice. “It is, I believe what your people term a tragedy. The first time a mech fell in love with an organic, it ended badly. There was nearly a war between the two worlds.” 

Mikaela blinked then, storing that information away to ask about later. “And this morning?”

Barricade fell silent for a long time, framing his answer carefully. He was not sure he wanted to show such a hand. The silence drew out, and finally he said, “That was about you,” and left it at that. 

Mikaela knew that tone. She understood not to press when he was in one of those moods, but tucked the knowledge away instead for later consideration.

“I see,” Mikaela finally said, fidgeting. The words hung in a long, and uncomfortable silence. Awkward. Uncomfortable. It made her shift from foot to foot.

He sensed her restlessness. It was easier to read her now, with his nanites on her he did not, per se have to scan her to know her vital signs. They told him everything he needed to know. He considered her, “Would you like to call that boy?” He finally asked, his optics going to her face.

“You...you would let me?” She asked, not liking how the thought made her nearly shake.

“Under my conditions. Yes, you may. Not for long, mind you, but you may let them know you are well.” He held out his hand and she climbed into it. He brought it in front of him, and looked at her face. “You are not to tell them where you are.”

She snorted, “Cade, please, I have no idea where I am. How could I tell them if I don’t know myself.” 

He leveled a red optic at her, ignoring the nickname for the time being. “They will not take you away from me.” He said firmly. “I will not allow it. I will not,” he said again, more firmly this time. He lowered her to the ground, already formulating how he would accomplish what he promised her.

She sighed, glad to be on her own two feet. She stepped back, as he transformed. The passenger door swung open. She got in, without thinking, it was more habit than anything else these days. His holoform watched her from the driver’s seat. He watched her for a moment, before leaning in and catching her lips. It was like a jolt of electricity went up her spine. More to her dismay that anything she melted into it. He pulled away, smirking. They drove off after that.

He mostly left her to her own thoughts. They drove for hours, how many she was not sure. She had no way to tell time these days. He touched her while they drove, a brush of his hand on her leg, her shoulder, as if to convince himself she was still there. She sighed, finally taking his hand in her own. She found it odd that he was the one that seemed to require reassurance. His holoform’s hand was warm in her own. She still found that odd. As she found the night before odd. She... it left her squirming. It was intense. Her eyes glanced over at him, and settled back into the living warmth of the seats. She wanted it again. She could even admit to herself that she wanted it again. The thought, however left her feeling unhappy. What had he done to her?

“Your pulse is racing. Are you well?” 

“No. I am not well. What did you do to me,” she finally got it out.

“I told you.” 

“I don’t like your explanation. I...” 

“It is.” He considered his words carefully not wanting to upset her further. “Marks can be lightly made. They can be of the sort that the union can be dissolved. So light that the organic may not realize that it has been marked as such,” he glanced at her face, knowing she would be angry at the liberties he had taken with her well being and life. “There are deeper marks. These are...” he found and searched for the words. “...they are soul deep. They are not breakable. Do you understand me? It is as binding as a if we are sparkbound. There will be no divorce, as you put it.” He held onto her hand more tightly if anything. It was too new, and he needed it. “It is not so bad. It is not a one way street. I am as much yours as you are mine,” he conceded, knowing it would be cold comfort.

He was quiet for a time, letting her mull over her thoughts, but he was not happy with the situation as it stood. In the past he would have lashed out at something. As it was he forced himself to take it in stride. The game had changed and he needed to change his strategy as such. They rode for a while longer, and finally stopped at a little Radio Shack in yet another town Mikaela didn’t recognize.

He left her in his alt form as his holoform went into the store and came back shortly with a cell phone, His holoform climbed in, and he handed her the phone. He sighed inside, hacking into the phones system he blocked the number. It would not stop them from finding the number, eventually, but it would slow them down. Buying it with a fake licence would also give them time, still, he knew that he would need to pitch the phone and get out of the area. The last thing he would want to do was give up their area. “You may tell him you are okay,” he said, watching her expression as much as monitoring the feedback the nanites gave him. It was an unfair advantage, but in this case he was not going to play by the rules. “You are not to tell him you are with me. Do you understand?” She didn’t answer him. “Mikaela.”

“Yes, I understand,” she said already dialing the number. It rang once. Twice. And finally she heard Sam’s voice on the other end.

“Hello?” a groggy male voice answered the phone.

“It’s me, Sam. I’m fine. I---I don’t have long. I just wanted to tell you I am fine.”

“Kaela.” Sam nearly shrieked on the other end. “Where are you? Kaela we’ve been so worried. We thought you were dead.”

“I’m fine,” she said again, before Barricade plucked the phone from her fingers, firmly shutting off the device. He opened up the back of the phone, plucking out the battery.

They drove away from the Radio Shack, and stopped by a McDonald's, he ordered for her without asking what she wanted, he could tell her blood sugar was low. She at least was not crying, but she wouldn’t, his mate was strong. It was yet another thing to be pleased about. He ditched the phone in the trash receptacle and drove off, ready to be home.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Sam dropped the phone as if it had burned his fingers. “Is something wrong,” Bumblebee asked, not liking the way Sam’s pulse jumped about. “It was Mikaela. She is alive, Bee. She’s alive,” he shivered. It had been, perhaps, the two most stressful months of his life. Between trying to figure out exactly how Bee and he fit together, and wondering if his other best-friend was still breathing air on the earth. The call left him shaken, angry, and upset to say the least.

Bee had already accessed accessed Sam’s phone, searching its records. The number had been blocked, but with a little finagling he had it. It only made him frown more when he saw who the phone was registered under. ‘Samuel Bee’. No help there. Nothing but another jab. He frowned, still searching. The call was placed in Apache Junction, not far from Phoenix. It gave them a point of reference at least, more than they’d had before. His optics cast a worried gaze at Sam. “I got a location,” he finally said hopefully.

Sam made and impatient motion. “Lets go then.” 

“Sam, we should...” Bee said trying another tact.

“Seriously, Bee. We need to go. They might still be there.” He made a panicking motion and Bee sighed inside, his circuits all a whirl. He knew they should tell Optimus, but his good sense lost the battle and he gave in to Sam’s wishes.

They were roaring down the road away from Autobot City within five minutes. All the while Bee searched the Internet looking for more clues. They would go to Apache Junction and take it from there. 

Sam looked out the window. His initial panic had subsided, he was too quiet, and it gave Bee cause for concern. The last two months had been horrible. Sam was constantly fretting and worrying about Mikaela. At the same time the time had been wonderful for Bee. The drive was still tense, as much as Sam loved spending time with Bumblebee he was still worried for Mikaela and on edge. They flew down Interstate 10, taking the road far faster than any terrestrial vehicle could, or would. Finding the the Radio Shack the phone was purchased from. Bee scanned the area while Sam went in to talk to the agent inside. There was a clear trace Energon signature, whether it was a Con or a Bot he could not tell, much to his frustration.

Sam came back out. “He remembered them,” Sam said, frowning. “Or him rather.” Sam continued. “Very tall guy, dark hair, kinda long. He said he was driving a police car. A mustang.” Sam pulled a face, and inkling of an idea forming in his head, and it was not one that he liked in the least. “Barricade? You think?” He asked flinching at the thought. The monster had tried to kill him and Mikaela once before. 

Bee considered it. “Could be,” he finally agreed He hoped Sam was wrong.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

_Barricade looked out over the concert hall from backstage, the hall rose high above all of the bots heads, the prismed glass of the ceiling glinting faintly under the Cybertronian sun. His spark quivering inside, warbling it’s own song. There were so many Cybertronians gathered. He looked, and looked hard. Finally spotting Elita in the crowd, he was not surprised to see his mother there. He smiled silently, she always came to the concerts, but this one was special. Still he searched the crowd hoping he would find his father in the crowd as well. He looked hard but his father was nowhere to be found. He felt a chill creep through his frame. He was never there, always too busy. As suddenly as it had came the excitement drained from the young mech, and he deflated a bit. Even when the music began if could not lift his spark._

_Dragonfly and Nebula brushed past him, Nebula giving him a little wink of her optical, her veridianharp in hand as they hurried to take their places on stage. They were older than him by thirteen and fifteen vorns respectively and it made him preen a bit to know some of his family would be playing this piece in particular._

_He looked up, catching the glint of white. Megatron. How could he not worship his uncle? He at least paid attention to him._

Barricade came out of his recharge, the memory still lingering. It was not something he had thought about in years, close to a thousand if he was truthful with himself. He was twice as angry that it hurt just as much now as it did then.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Bee looked over, watching Sam sleep fitfully on the hotel bed. He twitched in his sleep, mumbling something unintelligible.

He opened the comlink, ::We have a lead.:: He let Optimus know, feeling more than hearing an affirmative on the other end. He had, at least given his leader a heads up that they would be going as they raced away from Autobot City. ::I found an Energon signature in the city. And the description fits...Barricade.::

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Two weeks had passed since the call. They had fallen back into the patterns of before, but in a way they had changed. She was rarely more than a hand’s reach away from him. She woke up to his music, and fell asleep in his holoform’s arms at the end of the day. She broke from her reverie when he pulled her more closely to his holoform, and nuzzled into her neck.

He was worried, but he did not let on. He wondered, not for the millionth time, if he had been foolish to allow her the liberty of contacting the boy. He had been angry at himself about it for the first week. It was a vulnerability they could not afford. He certainly could not. He considered moving to a different base, perhaps one out of the country. It was a thought, but it would take time to set things up as he had here. Whatever it took to keep her with him. 

Barricade moved his hands lower, touching her lightly until she was moving against him. He felt more than satisfied with the way he made her cry out. He held her afterwards thinking how it was all a bit odd for him, perhaps for her as well. He could not tell what she was thinking, but she did not pull away from him anymore. Quite the contrary, she would seek out his touch now, as well as his opinions. They had shared stories of their lives, that connection meant all the more to him.

Sometimes, Barricade just knew his circuits were scrambled, or he was glitching. This was a daft undertaking. He was frightened, if he was truthful with himself. He knew the hunt was on. How long did they have before they were found? Not long, he feared. Indecision wheedling at him. The urge to grab her and run was great, but where would that get him? Caught just as fast, and then they would take her away from him. Worse, he worried not for his safety, but what would happen to her if he was decommissioned. His spark death could very well take her down with him. It was a danger, making him curse his own foolishness in binding her so tightly to him. Barricade worried for her, even as he held her he scanned the area, his worry growing to be a palpable thing. 

“Cade?” Mikaela asked drowsily, moving against him again. “What’s wrong.”

“Nothing is wrong, fleshling.” He murmured against her neck. “Recharge. You surely need it,” he chided her, as he moved a possessive hand down her bare stomach. 

Mikaela could tell he was not telling the truth, but she let it go for now. She knew why he was worried, and understood. “We could go to them. End this,” she said hopefully. “It is my choice,” she added, twining her fingers with with those of his holoform’s. “I want this,” she murmured wishing he would believe her.

He had no doubt that she spoke her mind. He did doubt whether her erstwhile friends would believe them to be the truth. “They will think that I have manipulated you to my thinking. And I have, I am not proud of it. But I am sorry to say, my love, I would not change things.”

She sighed, considering it. “Neither would I.” Her heart contracted painfully as she found it to be true.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Days passed in a jumble, leaving Mikaela feeling like her world was in an upheaval all over again. Barricade did not make it easier on her, teasing and teasing until she beside herself and flustered. He seemed to take particular joy in it, and other things as well...

Mikaela gasped under his ministrations. It felt like electricity was dancing up her spine. It was wonderful and terrible all at once, the nanites hit every pleasure center in her nervous system. She arched up in his hand. His own vents let out a huff of steam, as he tried to keep his own wits about him. It was a delicate thing. She cried out again, and he let out a cry of his own. It was satisfying in its own way when he took her in his holoform. He watched her thrash and keen, calling out his name. He was so enraptured by it that it took him precious seconds to realize the they were under attack, so to speak. The insect came in shooting, and it was all Barricade could do to keep Mikaela out of the line of fire. He ducked and rolled, tucking her against him. The other human looked...horrified. He had clearly seen enough.

The Insect roared more than a few Cybertronian obscenities at him. Had the situation been different Barricade might have even laughed at the yellow creature. He hardly found it funny, and less so when one of the shots finally hit their mark. Mikaela tumbled to the ground, landing in a dazed heap. Sam ran to her, pulling her to safety. It did not register at first that she was trying to pull away. Until she hit him. Actually hit Sam and ran across the warehouse, her voice ringing out. “Stop,” she ordered. And finally put herself between Bee and Barricade. She backed up until her legs bumped into Barricade, although her eyes never left Bumblebee, afraid of what would happen otherwise. “We are neutral. By that Treaty thing.” 

“Treaty of Iacon,” Barricade supplied, his hand on his injured shoulder.

“Yes, that,” she said in exacerbation. “Stop it.”

Bee finally stopped, took a step back, and accessed the situation.

Mikaela sighed, relaxing minutely, as she turned her attention of Barricade. “He fucking shot you.”

He shushed her. “Calm yourself, it is superficial.” He scanned her, more worried about her fall than any damage he had sustained. Barricade lifted her slowly, scanning her a second time. His processors finally registered the sense of relief that Mikaela had remained unharmed, no thanks to the Insect and his socket.

Bee watched them, puzzled and then alarmed by what he saw. His attention went from the Decepticon to Mikaela. Taking a closer look at her it was abundantly clear that she had been marked, and clearer still who held the mark. He watched her as he processed the information. Bee had never seen one bound so tightly. He wondered for a moment if it was intentional, or an accident.

Sam opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He wasn’t going to be able to scrub that sight of what they had walked in on from his brain anytime soon. A twinge of jealousy welled up and he could not push it away. It was entirely unfair. He replayed the scene in his head, and it made him twitch. He would have to talk to Bee about it later.

Bee stiffened, watching them. There were dangers to such pairings, so they had been taught, for females at least. His processors whirled, as he moved closer to Barricade. “You were careful then? There...there is dangers in this.” Bee trying to phrase it as delicately as possible, but his tone was edging toward rebuking.

Barricade glared, his gaze turning from annoyed to downright hostile. He bristled for a moment. “Do you think I would risk her health?” he said in a derisive tone. 

“I do not know what you would do or what you were thinking. Clearly.” Bee replied in turn. “Slag. How could I know? There is clearly something wrong with your programming.” 

“My programming.” the other mech hissed.

“Both of you, stop it.” Mikaela snapped. “Stop it right now.” Her tone brooked no argument.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Barricade called ahead. Just to make sure they got the same waitress. They shuffled in. Cameron Bee, Samuel Witwicky, with Barry and Mikaela Cade following behind. He put his arm around her to hide his discomfort as best as he could. Barricade’s holoform eyes followed the blond Insect. His lip twitched up, as he took his seat next to Mikaela in the booth. He scooted closer until they were touching. The contact was a relief, it helped to settle his nerves. Still, he had the petty urge to kick the Insect under the table. He refrained, and instead turned his charm on the waitress instead.

Tess smiled as she took their drink orders. “So nice to see you two again.” She smiled, “And who are these handsome men?” she asked.

“My brother Samuel, and his friend, Cameron.” Mikaela said, her lip twitching up into an amused smile. 

The waitress blinked at the boys for a moment. “The one that your husband sucker-punched?”

“One and the same.” Mikaela agreed, the amused smile on her face.

“Ah, do you guys know what you want to order?” Tess asked nerves making her voice shake.

“Give us a moment, will you.” Cade said smoothly, still smiling in an infuriating manner.

“Sucker-punched. huh?” Bee asked, eyeing the Decepticon’s holoform.

Cade just smiled.

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/user/dellessa/media/Cats/commissiondellessanna_by_crimson_nemesis-d5dqsmm.jpg.html)

Barricade: <http://crimson-nemesis.deviantart.com/art/CommissionDellessanna-325416046>

 

A/N: 

1\. Transformers do not in any way shape or form belong to me.

2\. Thanks to Blkntandogs, themadterran and others in my writing doc who helped me snip the hell out of this and get it into some coherent shape. They are my heros. <3 Original version beta’d by Chi Shiro.

3\. In this verse all Cybertronians are either True-sparked or Allspark Born. The following are always True-sparked: Prime-kin, Elites, Seekers, Praxians, Femmes, and other specialty frames. True-sparks are sparked with bonding in their programming, Allspark born are not. Allspark born will occasionally bond either together or with a True-spark. However, they must have their programming upgraded to do so. In some cases the offspring of two Allspark born must also have program upgrades if they wish to bond.

4\. We are using the Bayverse/Transformers Prime views of Mechanical Biology. By this I mean, Cybertronian CNA and nanites. Body type is a mix between Prime and G1.

5\. Thanks to Camfield for naming Barricade’s instrument a quatern. :O

6\. On nanites: [http:// tvtropes.org/ pmwiki /pmwiki.php /Main /Nanomachines](http://%20tvtropes.org/%20pmwiki%20/pmwiki.php%20/Main%20/Nanomachines)

[http:// en. wikipedia. org / wik i/ The_Snow_Queen](http://%20en.%20wikipedia.%20org%20/%20wik%20i/%20The_Snow_Queen)  The use of nanites in this series is honestly based on an original dark fantasy series that I write.  Switch out the nanites for vampire blood, and you get nearly the same effect, for an entirely different reason.  In both cases the infection creates a bond between the infected and the originator, as well as ...other side effects.

7\. On the use of the term socket: In this instance the word is only used as a derogatory term to refer to a human (or other organi) in a relationship with a cybertronian, nothing more. It is a slur akin to a racial remark and not a favourable one.

8\. =D I love notes.

9\. <http://www.seriouswheels.com/2010/r-z-0-9/2010-Saleen-Ford-Mustang-S281-Interior-1280x960.htm>


	3. Unruffled Under All Circumstances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The speed made him feel more alive. The speed and the possibility of wiping out. The other mechs behind him sped-up, threatening to pass as they neared the straight-away. Barricade kicked it up a notch, barreling passed the yelling guards. He grinned inside. This was worth spending a night down in the brig. Maybe even two nights. Bots scattered as the racers passed, some yelling in angry Cybertronian. It only made Barricade all the more amused. He knew his father would not bail him from the brig, Orion Pax was just that way. If he did bail him out it would only be with recriminations and a long drawn out lecture about responsibility. He reached the turn, surging lengths ahead. No. He would ask Megatron to bail him out, he decided as he skid to a stop in front of the guard. He spotted the Insect among them, and sneered in disgust.

_“Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances.”  
-Thomas Jefferson_

_  
The speed made him feel more alive. The speed and the possibility of wiping out. The other mechs behind him sped-up, threatening to pass as they neared the straight-away. Barricade kicked it up a notch, barreling passed the yelling guards. He grinned inside. This was worth spending a night down in the brig. Maybe even two nights. Bots scattered as the racers passed, some yelling in angry Cybertronian. It only made Barricade all the more amused. He knew his father would not bail him from the brig, Orion Pax was just that way. If he did bail him out it would only be with recriminations and a long drawn out lecture about responsibility. He reached the turn, surging lengths ahead. No. He would ask Megatron to bail him out, he decided as he skid to a stop in front of the guard. He spotted the Insect among them, and sneered in disgust._

_“What are you doing? You could have killed someone.” the Insect hissed._

_Barricade sneered at the yellow bot. “Your point?”_

Barricade rubbed his head, the stored memory lingering in his neural center.

OoOoOoOo

The first hour of their ride back to Autobot City was silent. Sam looked out the window, lost in his thoughts. There were a lot of thoughts there. Maybe too many. He was altogether horrified about what they had walked into. Horrified, and not a little bit fascinated. Bee had said they would talk about it later. He dreaded the conversation as much as he craved it, so he kept silent, and watched the scenery go by.

Bee, for his part, was silent as well. In part it irked him that that mech in particular could obviously just whole-heartedly jump into such a relationship. He was jealous. Not of them, precisely, but what they had. The fact that it was Barricade only made it smart a little more. His processors considered it, and the progress he had made with Sam. In truth he was scared. Scared of messing up, and more scared of where to take things. Hurting Sam was the last thing he wanted to do. He cursed in Cybertronian. Why did it have to be Barricade of all mechs?

“Bee?” Sam's voice finally broke the silence.

“Yes, Sam?” Bee winced, knowing what was coming.

“I think you have some things to explain,” he said slowly, but firmly. “What was that? I mean. I know what that was, but really....what was that?”

Bee was silent for a moment. “Ah...interface. We walked in on them---ah---interfacing.”

Sam was quiet. “So...we walked in on them having sex. Just so we are clear.”

“Very clear.” Bee agreed. 

Sam was silent again. Bee could almost hear the cogs in his head turning. “So...ah. Barricade. Huh. I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Neither was I.” Bee sighed, hot air blowing out of his vents in a mixture of annoyance and more jealousy. Barricade had found someone and he had not. Had things been different he might have gone to the other mech for advice. He obviously had figured out things. More than figured out. But things were not different in the least, and at best it smarted. “We are...My progenitor and his progenitor shared a progenitor. Still it is not something that I would have expected out if him. He always had a distaste for organics. Even before the war.” 

Sam blinked. “English, Bee.”

“He is my---cousin---I believe that is the word for it. We were sparked not long from each other. A vorn, or close to it.” Bee replied. 

“I didn’t realize you had relation on the other side.”

“We all did, Samuel. It tore families apart as much as our society.” he said mournfully. It was not something he dwelled on. Bee had always found it best to focus on the present. “Granted, Barricade was... well he has always been a bit of a rebel, not precisely what I would term as good.” He was quiet. “Before the war he was probably as inclined to get into trouble as anything else. There was more than a few street racing incidents. So much so that it caused issues with his work.” 

“And...what was his work?” Sam asked, blinking. He had not really thought of them as having any work but what they were presently doing now.

“He was a musician, a composer.” Bee elaborated. “He worked for one of the most prestigious...” he was quiet for a moment as he searched for the term. “concert halls. He composed music for other musicians to play.” 

“Oh...I...er...see.” Sam said trying to wrap his mind around it. Sam was quiet for a few minutes. “What did you do...before this?”

“I was...it was not so different for me, Sam. I have always been a Guardian. Before the war I was part of the Guard of Iacon. I worked my way up. And I would say that is another reason Barricade and I have never gotten on, as you would say. “ Bee said his tone thoughtful.

Sam sat against the warm seat, and tried to wrap his mind around it all. “I’m sorry.”

“It was long ago, Sam. Very long ago.”

“But it still hurts?” Sam asked.

“It still does.” Bee agreed, “It still does. But time helps,” he said, as he considered it.   
Sam was quiet, looked out the window again. He had a lot to think about.

OoOoOoOo

_Barricade sat in the first row of the empty concert hall and listened as the orchestra ran through their warm-up. He could listen to them for an eternity, and he might very well. He had completed his schooling, finally, and would soon be a part of the troop. Not playing, sadly enough, he was just not good enough to be one of the musicians on the stage. But he was a more than adequate composer. Both of his cousins, Nebula and Dragonfly, had put in a good word for him and helped him land this current job. His cousins were all so helpful. They had all been grown mechs when he was sparked and felt the need to take care of their younger family member. All except the Insect. Just thinking about the little, yellow nuisance made him growl._

_Nebula was in the orchestra and Dragonfly a soloist. He wished he had half their talent at playing. He shut his optics, leaned back and let the music wash over him. The music was lilting, and so sad. His spark contracted._

OoOoOoOo

The com-link connection woke him from recharge. It was not a pleasant way to wake. A com-link connection with Starscream, less so. ::Report, Barricade.:: Information streamed through the link. He had gathered their forces together. More had landed in the interim. 

Barricade broke the link, swearing in several languages. They knew where he was, and they would be here soon. Too soon. “Mikaela. We must go.” 

Mikaela startled awake, blinking at him still more than half asleep. “I’m really tired,” she murmured, and turned over, pulling the covers over her head.

He transformed, his holoform already striding across the room, pulling Kaela out of the bed, covers and all and slinging her over his shoulder. She made a sound not unlike a squawk and cursed at him loudly, most of it muffled by the blanket. “Goddamn it, Cade put me down.” 

“You can sleep when we are on our way,” he said as he put her, more gently, into the passenger seat. “We do not have time to discuss this.” 

The mech’s engines revved, and the car was speeding out of the warehouse, nearly clipping the door as it opened. 

Mikaela sat back in the seat, still cursing under her breath, both angry and confused. But more to the point trying to wake up and figure out what had Cade so obviously upset. 

“Where are we going?” She finally settled in, taking a deep breath and pushing down the anger for the time being. Still, she was irked when she noticed she was still in her pajamas and rumpled from sleep. She pulled the blanket more snugly around her. 

There was a pause, “Los Angeles.” 

“Oh, that’s nice. Why are we going there? And more importantly why couldn’t it wait until I was dressed?” 

“They are on their way, Kaela. I cannot....I cannot protect you against them all.” 

“From?” She couldn’t keep her exasperation from her tone. 

“Starscream is bringing the Decepticons together. They know where we were,” he finally replied, more patiently than normal, and without his normal snark, making it even more apparent how stressed he was. “We have to go to ground, so to speak. I cannot...I would not be able to protect you from all of them.” He said again, obviously pained about it. He, at least, had a destination. 

She shifted in her seat, pulling the blanket closer, taking some comfort in it’s warmth. “Do you...do you know what they’ve planned?” She finally asked, leaning back into the seat.

“No. I do not. I cut off the transmission before I had learned everything.” 

She looked out the darkened window, and wondered how long they had. Being captured had little appeal, and less so for her life expectancy. She would not age, as he said, but she could certainly still die. She wasn’t ready for that yet. She sat in silence, hoping he had more of a plan than just running. “What about the Treaty?” She finally reasoned out. 

“It is an Autobot treaty. They do not recognize it as such.” he accessed his wifi, surfing the net, and “fixing” things as it were. The humans’ systems were easy to navigate, and hack in to as it were. Their safeguards amused him more than slowed him down. Still, things should be ready by the time they reached their destination. It would be a good cover. One he was sure Mikaela would appreciate. Provided it held, and the other Cons did not discover them. As if sensing his thoughts of her, she sighed and shifted against the warm leather of his seats. 

“That’s great, just great, Cade.” she murmured, her ill mood still lingering. She looked out the widow, “You think we’re gonna to make it?” 

“Honestly?” 

“Yeah, honestly.” She said, not liking his tone.

“We’ll be fine if the slaggers don’t catch our trail.”

“I could call Sam...he’d get us help.” She finally said, knowing full well how he would feel about that. The growl he made only confirming it. “Right.” Mikaela said, “I figured you’d feel that way.” 

“Neutral doesn’t mean they are our allies.” 

“Yeah,” Mikaela agreed, “But it might mean we’re dead.”

OoOoOoOo

Bumblebee glanced at Optimus, his circuits feeling fried. He didn’t like being the bearer of bad news, and this was just about as bad as it got. “Ah---” where to begin. Bee nearly twitched under Optimus’ optics. 

“Ah?” Optimus asked.

“She was unharmed, quite the contrary, actually.” Bee could not help but feel uncomfortable relaying the news that he had. “Sorry, yes. She’s fine, he’s fine.” His optics flicked to Optimus’ face and he tried to judge how much to say. It was a tricky subject between them. Family ties notwithstanding. Bee squirmed under his commander’s regard. “Cade’s fine.” Bee finally added, his voice quiet. “She’s probably good for him.” 

Optimus gave the tiniest of nods. It made his spark hurt. He turned away, unable to bear looking at his nephew’s face for a moment. He wondered for the briefest moment where it had all gone wrong, but really he knew. Megatron. His brother had ruined everything. Optimus looked back at Bumblebee, wondering how precisely to phrase it. “Your cousin is well then?” He finally settled for that. It was easier than the other. 

Bee nodded, “He is. For how long, I don’t know.” He forced himself to crack a smile, not finding any of it overtly funny. The war had fucked it all up. Even he had known that. They had all lost loved ones. He had not been lying to Sam when he said it had broken families apart. Brother killing brother. All over one mad-mech’s vision. “He marked her. I don’t think it’s something that can be fixed.” Bee finally said. He knew that Barricade certainly didn’t want it to be. 

Optimus was stunned for a moment, quiet. 

Bumblebee just shrugged, knowing Optimus would have been more stunned had he walked into what they did. “He called on the treaty, or, I guess Mikaela did.” He considered his next words carefully, “Perhaps you should talk to him? I know...I know when Elita died it made things hard for you both. But he is your progeny.” Bumblebee finally got out. “We are family, and family shouldn’t act like this.” 

Optimus nearly flinched. It was a hard truth after all. He looked at Bumblebee, pained, and finally nodded. “You are right, soldier.” He touched the other bot’s shoulder. It had been too long. Optimus thought back at it, about his own sparkling. They had only had one. His son had been, was, he corrected himself, brilliant. Brilliant and so easily swayed by his uncle, Megatron. “Perhaps I will.” he finally settled for, and watched his other brother’s son. Polaris would be proud. He winced inside, he rarely thought of such things. Polaris, and most of his progeny, had been the first to fall under Megatron’s terror. 

“It was a long time ago.” Bumblebee said finally, hoping the matter would drop. “Arcee is expecting Sam and I. Target Practice,” he added, knowing Optimus would already be aware. Still, it was all he could do not to run from the room. Some things were best left in the past. For once he didn’t wait to be dismissed, but slipped out quietly, and went on his way to find Sam.

He didn’t have to go too far, Sam and Arcee were where he expected them to be. The range was deserted except for the three of them, and Bumblebee counted himself lucky. He did not think he could handle Ironhide in the mood he was in. He watched Sam level the gun at the target. He was surprisingly good at it. Surprising even to Sam, clearly. He took out the first two targets neatly, grazing the third. 

“Not bad.” Arcee cast a jaundiced eye his way. The boy was improving. And the gun itself, one of her more brilliant creations. While it wouldn’t take out a Con, it would certainly slow one down. She smirked, plucking the gun from Sam’s hands. “Just got to make a few more adjustments.” the bot said, her tone thoughtful. She cast a second glance at Bumblebee. It was clear he was upset about something. The mechling never hid it well. She fiddled with the weapon a bit, finally handing it back to Sam. 

Sam pulled a face, leveling the weapon at the targets, and started to go through the motions again. He didn’t think any of this was a good idea, but there was no use arguing over it. 

Arcee for her part kept her gaze on Bee. He was clearly not well and dwelling on something. ::Maybe you should go see Ratchet.:: she said over a private link, watching him appraisingly. 

He just shook his head. This was not something Ratchet could fix, as much as he would like that. ::No, I’m fine. Really.::

Arcee shrugged, her attention back on Sam. They couldn't say she didn’t try.

OoOoOoOo

The fifteen hour drive took them six hours. Kaela had slept through most of it, curled up in the passenger seat. Although she had slept, it was a fitful sleep that she woke from any time there was a noise in the sky above. There were no F-22 jets breaking across the sky, and that much she was grateful for. Traffic was bad, but it was always bad here. She looked out the window and wondered if they were going to head for Tranquility. She had not really thought about the place in months. She had not even given a thought to her parents. She still didn’t want to, truthfully. Her dad had been back in jail when she had been taken, and she somehow doubted that he would be out. Either way she wasn’t sure she wanted to drop in on her parents house, they had done little enough for her. They finally stopped, more because Barricade needed to refuel than anything else. 

“Where are we going, anyway?” Kaela finally broke down and asked, as she nibbled at a cupcake. He had not been too happy with the “junk” she had grabbed from the last gas station, but he was just going to have to deal with it she decided. He worried too much. The thought made her smile, though. He really did worry too much.

“I have bought a place.” 

“What? You mean you stole some people’s money, and---” she shook her head. The mech was a klepto. Sure, she had helped her father steal cars, but this was a little beyond that. “Sometimes I really don’t know about you.” 

“Sometimes I really don’t know about me either.” Barricade said dryly. “All I know is we need some place to lay low.” 

“Right,” she agreed. She had known white picket fences were never in her future, but this was definitely not what she imagined. 

She was knocked out of her daydream by the booming sound of a jet breaking the sound barrier, and then a thud that shook the ground. Barricade skidded sideways to a stop then reversed, putting some distance between him and the jet. 

The jet crouched, his eye glowing a malevolent red in the darkness. 

Barricade cursed in Cybertronian and several other languages. The only saving grace being that the rest of Starscream’s trine were nowhere to be seen. He opened the door, for Mikaela, transforming as soon as her feet hit the ground. He crouched in front of her, keeping himself between Mikaela and Starscream. 

The Con’s eyes narrowed, watching. “I never thought you had it in you,” Starscream sneered. 

Barricade did not leave his defensive position. “I have no quarrel with you.” 

“Don’t you?” Starscream laughed, “You’ve never approved of me.” 

“I don’t have any quarrel with you.” Barricade said again, calculating their survival rate. Starscream was unpredictable at best. Since Megatron had offlined he was worse. Oddly Barricade thought that always been part of his appeal to Megatron. That and the fact that he had hurt Ratchet so much when he had separated them. In many ways Starscream was the victim of circumstance. 

“Take it as a promise then.” Starscream said, his tone calculating. “We will extinguish your spark. I don’t care what Megatron thought of you.” He hovered of one moment, transforming mid air. 

The sound made Mikaela’s ears pop. She moved, putting a hand on Barricade’s knee as he remained where he was, looking up into the night sky. 

Kaela shivered, “Cade, we need to go.” She finally said, still looking up at the sky. “It isn’t safe here.” 

“I know it’s not.” Cade murmured. “We need...”

“We need to go to the Autobots, Cade. Swallow your pride down before it gets both of us killed. You want to save me? That is the only place that I would be safe.”

He cringed inside. Cringed more knowing she was right. “As you wish,” he finally said, his vents letting out a soft hiss as he sighed. His circuits felt far more than fried. 

“He’s a coward.” Barricade growled, his red eyes still on the sky. “We’d be dead if he wasn’t alone.” 

“I know.” Mikaela said, touching his leg again, for once needing the comfort herself. A coward, Starscream was, that much was clear to her. He was also conniving, and would not hesitate to use her against Barricade. She was a liability. She moved closer to him, shivering. “We should go.” And, for perhaps the first time in months, she resented what they had. Not because of the danger she was in, but for the fact he was in danger because of it. In danger and weakened by their bond. It left a chink in his armor she was sure the Cons would exploit. 

“It will be fine.” he finally said, plucking her up as he straightened, lifting her so they looked eye to eye. “We will contact the Autobots,” he told her, his optics trying to read her expression, surprised to find them shuttered for once. “One way or another, Mikaela, it will be fine.” Barricade cringed inside, it sounded like an empty promise. 

“It always is,” she offered, wearily. 

“It always is,” he agreed echoing her sentiment, still shaken. “We...will do as you suggest. Set up a meeting with the Bots.” 

She put a hand on one of his sharp fingers, steadying herself as he lowered her back to the ground. “I know it is hard for you. I understand.” 

He was quiet for a moment, staring down at her with unblinking red opticals. “No, Mikaela, you do not understand at all. You are missing vital pieces of information to understand.”

“The war...”

“It is not only that. I could...” he shook his head trying to spit it out. It made his circuits buzz in irritation. “The issue, actually, is my progenitor.”

Mikaela pulled a face. “Your what? Oh---you have a father?” 

“Of course I have a father, what did you think? I hatched from a shiny metal egg?”

“I really hadn’t thought about it, honestly.” 

“As I was saying. The issue is my progenitor. I am...I would say I always was a bit of a disappointment. My cousin had taken my place in his heart, the insect.” He glowered out of habit. “And I fear I made a lot of bad choices which only compounded the problem.” 

Mikaela listened, frowning. “That’s a long time ago, right?” 

“I fear it is a pressing concern with this day and age, my sweet fleshling. Orion Pax is my progenitor, and I cannot say begging him for his Autobots’ protection is appealing to me.” He looked up at the sky for a moment. “But I will swallow my pride for your safety.”

“Orion Pax?” Mikaela asked, a frown pressing onto her face.

“Optimus Prime.” he growled. 

“And---what---Bee is your cousin?”

“On the mark.” he agreed. “His spark came from of one of Optimus Prime’s brothers, Polaris....and Aria.” he sighed, “They were two of the first to fall during the early days of the war. Their entire family was slaughtered. They were...they were not warriors. They were civilians. I’m not proud of my part in it all. It is just---” he looked away. “Megatron was very charismatic in the beginning. We thought we were doing something great. For my part, I was foolish. I wanted recognition so badly.” 

Kaela frowned, his mood was spiraling. “Cade...if you don’t want to talk about it...”

“I do. But now is not the time.” he agreed. He stepped away from her transforming without a further word, he opened the passenger door and patiently waited for her to get in.

She slid in, pulling the seat-belt snugly around her, and the blanket across her lap once more. He was silent as the took off down the road. For her part she was silent as well. He had given her a lot to think about. She tried to wrap her mind around it, and it made an odd sort of sense. Bitter blood she would have said if they had been human. 

The silence drew out for a very long time, it seemed long for Mikaela, before he finally began to speak again. “I was at Tyger Pax with Megatron. He tortured Bumblebee after forcing him to watch his entire family die.” There was a long sigh of hot air through his air vents. “I have done horrible things, and I realize that. I have done horrible things to you.”

“Cade you...”

“Listen, please. I watched while my family was slaughtered. I didn’t lift a hand to save Aria, or Polaris. I said nothing when he killed my cousins one by one in front of me. I helped. I sat back and let him tear out Bee’s voicebox. I let it happen.” He sighed again. “I...never got along with Bumblebee. He had what I wanted. Was going to have everything I wanted. I was never meant to have the Matrix of leadership, it would have gone to Bee one day. It might still yet. Things have changed. Megatron would have killed him as well, but I convinced him that this would be a more fitting punishment than death. Death was just too quick,” he continued, his voice sounding strained. “I would...I would love to say I would try to be better for you, Kaela. But I am just not...”

“Stop. Stop right there.” Mikaela said, finally finding her voice. “Stop. Don’t tell me whether you are good for me or not. Don’t even go there. It is too fucking late to go that route now.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “It is over and can’t be changed. Please. Stop beating yourself up over it.” She sighed, patting the consul beside her, idly, thinking over everything he had said. She was sure there was more, but that could wait until later. She shook her head, she had never met anyone quite so pent up, Autobot or otherwise. Her lips pinched together, never having said it. “I love you, you know that, right?”

He was silent, for a long moment. “I had hoped.” he finally said in a very tiny, and un-Cade-like voice. 

“I do. That means I don’t pick and chose which parts about you that I love. So stop being stupid about it. And stop saying you don’t deserve me,” she said firmly, her voice telling him she wasn’t going to take any arguments on the subject. She paused, and let it sink in. Had he been human she might very well have throttled him. Someone as old as he was should not be this emotionally immature, but there it was, and she could not change it. 

She had a lot of questions for him, but she tucked them away for now. It could wait.

OoOoOoOo

_The little sparkling trundled behind Barricade, causing the little bot to scowl and run into a nearby room. He hid in the shadows, watching it fall down and then begin to cry. It served the creature right. Barricade sneered at it and wished for the millionth time it would cease to be. To his annoyance his progenitor came in and scoped the Insect up, holding it tightly. Barricade could see him smile, and murmur to the child. “Little Bumblebee, are you going to be one of my soldiers one day?” Orion smiled brighter still, and Barricade’s heart fell. He would never be good enough._

Barricade filed the memory back into his processor. How little things had changed.

OoOoOoOo

They sat in the parking lot, the mall was empty, and the night around them well past dark. Kaela sat with her new phone in her hand. She smoothed her thumb around the edge of the device, and frowned. “Are you sure?” She finally asked one more time. She went over their other options for the millionth time. This seemed the only safe course. 

“I’m sure.” he said wearily. 

Her thumbs danced across the keypad, dialing Sam’s number from rote memory. “Sam, I need your help,” she blurted out before he could even say hello. 

“Er...Hi Kaela.” Clearly he wasn’t expecting a call this soon.

“Seriously.” She sighed. “Starscream has found us. We got out of the area, but he tracked us back to Los Angeles. We...Cade’s agreed he will help the Autobots provided they give us sanctuary,” she frowned trying to convey the formal request. 

“He wants to....”

“Could you just tell Optimus? We want to set up a meeting.”

“Yeah. I will tell him.” Sam said, his tone oddly neutral to Kaela’s ears. 

“Great, remember Bonfamille’s in Burbank?”

“Yeah.”

“Meet us there at five, please.” 

“Fine. I will call you back if that isn’t do-able.” 

“Thanks, Sam. Really, I appreciate it.” 

Sam sighed on the other end. “You are okay, right?” His agitation seeped through in his tone.

“Yes. I’m fine,” she said wearily. “I really am.”

“Good. I worry. I do wonder though, ah....Why Bonfamille’s? Seriously, Mik, it’s kinda weird.”

She laughed. “Some of my best memories with Cade are there.”

He was silent for a moment, “Yeah, I don’t wanna know. Just forget I asked.”

She laughed again as they finally said their goodbyes and she ended the call. She sat in the car silent for a moment. “You still okay?” She asked Cade, turning to look his holoform in the eye. 

He leaned into her. “As okay as I can be, all things considered.” He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, and finally pulled her into his lap, holding on to her tightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:   
> Warnings for this Chapter: Xeno, Dubious consent. Implied Past Mech-Preg. Sparklings. Family-ties.  
> 1\. Transformers do not in any way shape or form belong to me.  
> 2.. In this verse all Cybertronians are either True-sparked or Allspark Born. The following are always True-sparked: Prime-kin, Elites, Seekers, Praxians, Femmes, and other specialty frames. True-sparks are sparked with bonding in their programming, Allspark born are not. Allspark born will occasionally bond either together or with a True-spark. However, they must have their programming upgraded to do so. In some cases the offspring of two Allspark born must also have program upgrades if they wish to bond. But we’ll go farther into that in later chapters.  
> 6\. I’m are using the Bayverse/Transformers Prime views of Mechanical Biology. Bayverse called the Cybertronian CNA nanites, so we’re going with that.


	4. Without Flinching

Title: Pursuit. Part 1: Pursuit of Companionship.Chapter 4. Grounded.  
Verse: Multi-Continuity A/U  
Series: Pursuit  
Rating: M  
Warnings: Mature Content. See ending notes for all specific warnings.  
Pairings: Barricade/Mikaela  
Summary: In which Mikaela goes for a ride.  
Note: See ending notes.

_One ought never to turn one's back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never!  
~Winston Churchill_

 

She knew Sam and Bee immediately when they arrived right on time in front of the Bonfamille’s. It took her a moment to realize the third person was Optimus. Mikaela watched him for a moment, her eyes darting from Barricade’s face to Optimus’ and back. There was definitely a familial resemblance, she noted. They both were tall, Cade more slender, and Optimus broader across the shoulders. They both had inky black hair. Cade’s hair was longer, Optimus’ cut short in an almost military style. The main difference being the eyes. Optimus’ were the brightest blue she had ever seen. Cade’s an unnatural amber color. 

Mikaela suppressed a snort as she realized it, first thinking Cade’s black leather and skinny black jeans were just an affectation. The clothes they wore even reflected their real forms parked outside. Prime walked in wearing blue jeans and a red and black lumber jack’s shirt, like a military man in retirement, or her pop’s first parole officer. He was well intentioned too....

Cade said they projected their souls, and she believed it. They just looked right. Even the insec... she caught herself. Even Bumblebee was blonde and blue eyed, yellow and black European racing jacket over his arm because of the heat outside. His skin with the same healthy tan as the other two holoforms possessed. The arches and planes of their faces were much the same. He looked like Cade’s family, but in the ‘All American’ boy sort of way. He was beginning to remind her of the high school quarterback that had been too busy trying to get into her pants to listen when she warned him he was about to strip his gears because he didn’t know how to downshift right.

All three of them even grimaced the same way; no one happy for the family reunion. At least, Sam sort of looked happy see them. . . sorta. It made her want to frown for real. “Whatever.” she thought. He didn’t look too hard for her. 

Cade held onto her hand with a death-grip. It made Mikaela wince inside, but she pushed it away. He needed it and she could deal with it for him. He was more than worth it. The hostess that never seemed to leave showed to a table at the back of the restaurant. 

Mikaela searched their faces as they took their seats around the table. It was difficult not to squirm in her seat. She looked from Bee to Optimus, his expression at least had some neutrality to it, but he also looked just about everywhere but at Cade. “So.” Mikaela said, her tone nervous. “What’re your conditions?” 

Optimus watched her, then his eyes went to Cade for the first time. “You will be confined to your living quarters. We cannot permit you run of the city. You understand that, don’t you?” 

“I expected nothing less.” Barricade replied in an equally cold tone. The fact that his hand contracted around Mikaela’s the only sign that the admission pained him. “My freedom for her safety? It is little enough to ask for.” 

Bumblebee watched the exchange, frowning himself. He was surprised that Barricade agreed so easily. He had thought the Decepticon was incapable of any deeper emotions. For the first time he wondered if he had his cousin all wrong. Even if he did, he could not help but remind himself it did not matter. It changed nothing. He scooted closer to Sam. His normal insecurities itching at him more than usual. 

Sam listened to the exchange and tried to understand why everyone was so angry. He looked hard at Barricade’s holoform, finding it very odd that he looked so much like Optimus. It was downright bizarre. They had the same coloring, same general look. Granted, the Con was not nearly as imposing as the Autobots’ Prime. Bumblebee had the same look, if not the same coloring. He found it odd, very odd, and it made him wonder. He looked a little harder, and frowned, a horrible thought developing in his head. He decided to ask Bee about it later and hope he wasn’t too offended by it. Sam was relieved when the waitress finally brought their food and the tension broke, at least to an extent.

Mikaela picked at her food. She felt horrible. Not just that they would impose such a condition. She had expected it, but still had hoped that they would give him the benefit of the doubt. Finally she glared at Optimus, “You know...this is ridiculous. It isn’t as if we are going to open the gates and let the Decepticons come inside. Really, be serious.”

Barricade tried to shush her, but she waved him off. “I guess I am just going to be on house arrest too.” 

Optimus gave her a bland look, “Very well, Miss Banes.” His eyes flicked to his erstwhile progeny for the briefest of moments. “Barricade may leave quarters, provided he has an escort, but that is as much concession as I can allow. Bumblebee will see to any escort duties.” Optimus added his eyes sliding over to the bot in question. 

Bumblebee flushed red, but he did not argue with Optimus. In this case it would do little good. “Right, I will get on that.” He muttered under his breath.

OoOoOoOo

The Mustang purred along the road silently, sullenly as they drove to Autobot City. It worried Mikaela more than she cared to admit. The ride went on forever, the needle on the accelerator rarely going over the posted speed limit. “Are you okay?” She finally dared to ask, leaning over the dash to talk to car rather than the holoform pretending to drive. She stroked leather lovingly. 

“Far from it.” he growled, and regretted it immediately. “I’m not mad at you. I am just mad at the situation.” 

“I know,” she said, watching the desert fly by, the roads now familiar territory. She noticed he answered a question she never bothered to ask, but still hung in the space between them. She drew her own conclusions from there. She leaned over again. “Maybe it won’t be so bad.” 

“It will be worse.” 

“Cade.” Even the robot artists she dated were melodramatic. What was with that?

“I’m sorry,” he huffed, hot air blowing through the vents in a defeated sigh. Even this was worth it if he was allowed to stay with her. 

They reached the gate house, and entered the base proper. They had constructed more buildings since Mikaela’s last jaunt out here in the desert. She craned her head looking around. Cacti dotted the landscape, and other than the new buildings it was unchanged. 

The city, Autobot City rose before them. It was bigger than she expected. Massive buildings loomed before them. The human barracks and base on one side, and the city itself on the other. The buildings’ metal glimmered in the heat, creating a mirage effect. The effect was intimidating.

Vehicles zipped around them, falling into formation. She knew prison guards when she saw them. 

She looked up, seeing a of couple Autobots she did not recognize that were lumbering along near the runway stop to watch. Their eyes narrowed, saying everything. They were not welcome there. “Some welcome,” she whispered. Cade’s engine revved in agreement.

She had a feeling things were not going to get any easier. They stopped in front of the barracks on the Autobots’ side of the base. Kaela got out, stepping of of the way as the bots transformed. Bumblebee looked at them smugly, their Autobot guards standing beside. One pinkish one held her weapon idly in Kaela’s direction. “Can’t be too careful,” the Autobot said. This seemed more like Bumblebee’s doing rather than Prime.

“You will be staying here.” Bee said, leading them inside. It was one of the few bunkers they had for human/bot cohabitation. It was supposed to go to Will and his family, but they couldn’t seem to bear parting with their home. As it was, Ironhide stayed out with them more often than not so the bunker had stayed empty, at least until now. Barricade followed her inside, craning his neck and for once he found himself curious. The acoustics of should not be not be bad. He took comfort in that at least. He tuned into the local network, already making a note of what they might need. He might as well make the best of it if they were stuck there for the time being. 

He turned to Bumblebee. “I think we will be fine from here,” he said, wishing the little yellow insect would just slag off. 

“Thanks, Bee,” Mikaela gave him a little smile. “We appreciate it,” she said stressing the “We” as she gave Barricade a warning look. 

“You’re welcome Mikaela,” he said, turning to take his leave, the other Autobots thankfully following behind him. “Anyone can change their stripes,” she thought she heard an older, gruffer sounding Autobot whisper as he put a firm hand on Bee’s shoulder. 

The door shut behind him. She stood a moment, her breath hitching in her side. It had been a long day. A nightmarishly, long day. “I...am beat,” she said, crossing the room to where he still stood. She looked up at him, her hand resting on his shin. “And you should recharge too. You’ve been running on fumes.” 

“Fumes of fumes.” He said, his tone weary, but teasing.

She chuckled and looked around the bunker, it was big, and open, a living area with tall ceilings, with a loft at the back. She wandered up the stairs. It was sparsely furnished, but would do for now. “Like minimum security prisons,” she joked uneasily, knowing it was anything but. “Mob bosses get treated worse.”

Barricade sat down, and watched her explore. As prisons went this was positively comfortable. He was already accessing his wifi and purchasing what he thought they would need online, his gps providing him with the address. His human would be comfortable here, even if he was not. He still felt like bristling at the thought of being babysat by the Insect. He was not sure what his progenitor was playing at, but it was not going to resolve their issues. Not when his hands were still stained with the life-fluids of Bee’s family. 

Mikaela came back to the mech, hugging his large forearm. “It might not be so bad,” she said again with a bit more hope in her voice. 

“No, it might not be,” he agreed, picking her up gently and holding her against his chest. “There are still worries,” his optics scanned the bunker. “Just stay close. I fear the seekers trine has reunited,” he sensed her confusion. “Seekers are fliers, they generally operate in groups of three. Skywarp and Thundercracker are a part of Starscream’s. Skywarp is a worry, to say the least. He is not the brightest of Cons but he can teleport. I do not know what defenses they have here.” he added in frustration.

Mikaela rested her cheek against the warm metal of his chest, gears whirling about inside like a heartbeat. “We will just have to be careful.”

“I wonder if he left Arcee to stand guard as a joke,” Cade looked down at the ground rather than at Mikaela. 

“Why?” Mikaela ready for this new wrinkle. “Is there anyone here you haven’t tried to kill?”

Barricade optics searched lower, knowing the answer was most likely, no. And it shamed him greatly.

OoOoOoOo

Bumblebee was not happy. He cast Sam a sideways glance, for once his human did not seem to notice. Instead Sam babbled. Bee let him, knowing it was nerves. For all that he loved the boy he knew how high-strung he was and could not help it. Most of the time. 

“I’m glad they are here.” Sam finally said, his eyes darting to Bee’s. “I know you don’t like him, but at least Mikaela is here safe, right?”

“Yeah....right.” Bee agreed squelching down his discomfort. Bad enough Barricade was in the Autobots’ base, worse still they would be neighbors after a fashion. It was not a situation that Bee was pleased with. Worst of all he would have to watch the Con. He seethed for a moment and wondered what Optimus was playing at. “She will be safe here.” he added, “I just wonder if we will be safe with that monster around.”

“Bee. Maybe he isn’t that bad.” Sam said in a hopeful tone.

“And maybe Starscream is going to be my new best friend.” He held up his arms in frustration as he paced.. “Don’t bet on it, Sam. He’s bad. He’s crossed her circuits. He’s manipulated her into this.” 

“I don’t know. Mikaela’s a really strong person, Bee. It’s not as if...”

“I know she isn’t. But he’s marked her. It leans her thinking a certain way. It’s not her fault, I know.” Bee shook his head, it made his circuits burn.

 

Sam nodded, he could understand Bumblebee’s anger readily enough. Another part of him was just glad that Mikaela was back, and safe. It was was mattered most. “It could be worse, Bee. Really. She could be dead. Kinda reminds me I was meaning to ask you---are you and Optimus---related or something?” He had put two and two together, but he wasn’t completely sure it was the correct two and two.

“He is the brother of my progenitor.” Bee shrugged. 

“English.”

“He is my uncle, Sam.” 

Sam blinked at him for several moments. 

Bee waited for it to process, knowing it would take a minute or two to sink in. He winced inside when it finally did.

“What?” Sam screeched, making Bee wince. “You...” he flailed his arms, not able to find the words. “You are Optimus’ nephew and you never told me. Bee! Why didn’t you tell me?”

Bee winced again, this being exactly why he did not tell Sam.

“I...I just can’t.” he frowned, stopping for one moment. “Is there anything else you aren’t telling me?”

OoOoOoOo

Things settled down quickly. Life bustled around them on base. There was still so much they needed to get done; the city was a work in progress after all. To keep busy. Mikaela helped out with moving boxes and unloading trucks. She’d once been threatened with joining up before someone politely reminded the judge she was still a minor. He made her do a summer of kiddie boot camp for girls instead. The rhythm of the work was comforting, keeping her away from the high end automobiles that seemed to be everywhere on base, always tempting to hop into before the Army took them back to dealerships they borrowed them from. 

Sometimes, she helped Ratchet in the infirmary, which was nice in a different way. 

There was always something needing to be done, and working on a bot wasn’t much different than changing a transmission. Cars had always spoken to her in their own, special language anyway. 

Mostly, she stayed in their living quarters with Barricade to keep him company. The captivity was hard on him. He was restless, and it scared her, worried that he would regret the situation more than anything else. 

He did not. Far from it. It made their bond grow stronger. 

It was the work though that kept her from going insane. She knew she still needed talk to people. People, people like her and Sam, and not stuck up ‘Bots like Arcee who still looked at her like trash. 

She’d always liked Will, and Epps since the beginning with the All Spark.. They had been, and were, doing their best with the base. And for his part Will at least understood her relationship with Barricade. His own with Ironhide was equally complicated.....

Sam worked beside her, just as sweaty underneath the bright summer sun. The heat was just this side of bearable, and she knew they would have to take a break soon. She grinned at Sam, shading her face against the bright sun as they went to get more boxes. “So....you and Bee, how is that going?”

Sam blinked at her, “What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean. How is it going with you two?”

Sam's eyes darted around them. “I don't know what you mean.”

“You and him. It's obvious you two love each other. “

“I'm not gay, Mikaela. It’s really not like that,” he said giving her a sideways glance.

“Oh. I just assumed.”

Sam shrugged, “You know...I think he's rubbing off on you a bit too much. Making assumptions. Yeah. I love Bee, but it’s just not like that. I don’t want him like that.”

“You make it sound like I’m weird or something.” 

Sam watched her. “I don’t think that. I’m...I never thought I would say it but I’m happy your happy. Even if Barricade is rubbing off on you. Fuck you are prickly and snarky thses days.”

“Sam!”

Yeah...like I said. A bit too much like him.” He shook his head, grabbing another box once they reached the truck. He put his box down suddenly. “It’s... It’s....” he started to gesticulate wildly, going bug-eyed. “It’s creepy, Mik.” 

She smirked. “Yeah, I know it is.”

OoOoOoOo

At the end of the day she made her way back home, because it is home now, and he was waiting for her. He’s always waiting for her. She told him about her day, Mikaela even made him crack a smile. He smiled more these days. She did too for that matter. 

The music from their bunker drifted out into the night. Bee’s audio receptors picked it up with a start. He remembered the first time he had heard it, barely out of his own childhood. Cade. It was a haunting song, and if anything it made Bee’s spark hurt with sudden home-sickness. Optimus had been so proud at that first concert, although Cade did not seem to notice or understand. They were all at such cross purposes. They had been for too long, and Bee worried that things would never right themselves in the topsy-turvy world they found themselves in.

The mood was brighter with Mikaela, she danced, made Cade laugh, and finally drop the instrument, as he chased after her in his holoform. They both finally fell over laughing when he caught her, kissed her until she begged her surrender. She smiled up at him, her eyes bright. Mikaela wasn’t quite sure when the future seemed so bright, but from her view at that moment it was nearly perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:   
> Warnings for this Chapter: Xeno, Dubious consent. Implied Past Mech-Preg. Sparklings. Family-ties.  
> 1\. Transformers do not in any way shape or form belong to me.  
> 2.In this verse all Cybertronians are either True-sparked or Allspark Born. The following are always True-sparked: Prime-kin, Elites, Seekers, Praxians, Femmes, and other specialty frames. True-sparks are sparked with bonding in their programming, Allspark born are not. Allspark born will occasionally bond either together or with a True-spark. However, they must have their programming upgraded to do so. In some cases the offspring of two Allspark born must also have program upgrades if they wish to bond. But we’ll go farther into that in later chapters.  
> 6\. We are using the Bayverse/Transformers Prime views of Mechanical Biology. Bayverse called the Cybertronian CNA nanites, so we’re going with that.


End file.
